mid May, ought eight
D tache´ cases,
For years we've had a chalkboard behind the bar where we have a thought of the day. There have been lots and lots of such thoughts over the years. One classic that stuck came to us via Tommy Knox from the Clamdaddys, "Without the roots you can't get the fruits". There is currently a saying up on the board by the other Clamdaddy, Mo Walker, "I'm blessed. When I'm hungry I eat, when I'm tired I sleep." So there's some thoughts for you all to chew on this week, straight from the beards of the fantastic gentleman hosting the legendary jam we will have tonight at the D Note.
Tomorrow night, Thursday May 15, we have the Ralston Valley Highschool Band at 6pm. We've some great players emerge out of this school over the years. The head of the program, Ken Sawyer, is doing very important work. Then at 8:30 pm we have the Lucas Cates Band all the way from Madison Wisconsin. Every once in awhile we get these up and coming performers touring to get their name out there. More often than not they are terrific. Sometimes they go on to make a name for themselves and sometimes they don't, but it is cool to see them out there living the dream. By the look of this guy's website and press, he may just crack the big time, lucascates.com, myspace.com/lucascates. We're happy to try to help Lucas out on his way up.
Friday night at 8pm we have the return of our old friends The Spin. This is a bombastic rock band, covering the 60's onward. It has been a long while since they've been in the house, but they are local and always have a packed dance floor. $10.
Saturday night we have two more local bands playing classics you can dance to, JSK Band and Cobalt Jack. $5.
And then there's all that other regular stuff we got going. Check it out at dnote.us.
Also, a message from Monica... "Congratulations to Shannon McKinney, our lucky Baby Boogie Mom's Day gift basket winner! And thank you to the following Olde Town Arvada merchants who contributed: Bliss Cafe, Fiori di Flavio, Knit Knack, Lovely Boutique, Penzey's Spices and Rheinlanders Bakery."
Dispatching,
D tatch
Extra Credit: Here's one of our favorite poems by William Blake, a visionary, subversive 18th century English poet. Seems to sum up a certain D Note spirit...
The Little Vagabond
Dear Mother, dear Mother, the Church is cold,
But the Ale-house is healthy & pleasant & warm;
Besides I can tell where I am used well,
Such usage in Heaven will never do well.
But if at the Church they would give us some Ale,
And a pleasant fire our souls to regale,
We'd sing and we'd pray all the live-long day,
Nor ever once wish from the Church to stray.
Then the Parson might preach, & drink, & sing,
And we'd be as happy as birds in the spring;
And modest Dame Lurch, who is always at Church,
Would not have bandy children, nor fasting, nor birch.
And God, like a father rejoicing to see
His children as pleasant and happy as he,
Would have no more quarrel with the Devil or the Barrel,
But kiss him, & give him both drink and apparel.
early May, ought eight
D funkt,
How about a dose of coast to coast? We love the talent and spirit behind the local EHF collective and are honored that they are having periodic shows at The D Note. If you haven't been in to see the new show at the D Note, then check it out, plus commentary, here. EHF artists bravely choose to ply their trade in Colorado, but they make of the midwest a crease along which we may fold the country in half, so that the West meets The East.
This Friday night, May 9, is one we have been eagerly anticipating. We will have blues legend Otis Taylor in the house. Just thinking about hearing his music live in the intimate living room of the D Note gives us chills.Check out the website here to get a feel for this unique artist. One kind of cool thing you won't find on the website is that Otis has a guitar and a banjo named after him by two different makers. How cool is that? Otis will have guest musicians with him, and then afterwards a great blues rock band out of Ft. Worth Texas called Catfish Whiskey is playing. And the Clamdaddys, local legends and great friends of the D Note, are playing the dinner hour before Otis. We've been trying to get Otis in for 3 or 4 years and we're really gonna enjoy the fruits of our persistence on Friday night. Hope you can make it out too. Only $12! Recommend getting in early. There's a few reservations left too so give the D Note a call. 303-463-6683.
Btw, for your future reference, we generally will reserve out half of the tables for a big show and the rest are first come first serve.
Saturday night we have a benefit at 7pm for Rocky Flats survivors featuring the 18 piece Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra $5. Then at 10pm we have Clusterfunk in to rock the house.
This Thursday night we have Boomers Unlimited, a band specializing in dance music form the 40's-70's! Any proud boomers out there gonna come shake it?
Sunday is a special Mother's Day edition of Baby Boogie, and we'll have a performance by Anya and The Music Train, treats and gifts for moms, plus some great specials. 2-6pm.
We're out the window,
D fenestraters
Extra Credit: We need a short poem this week, but what? How about one of the greatest poems of all time, by Ron Padgett.
Chocolate Milk
Oh God! It's great!
to have someone fix you
chocolate milk
and to appreciate their doing it
Even as they stir it
in the kitchen
your mouth is going crazy
for the chocolate milk!
The wonderful chocolate milk!
late April, ought eight
D livers,
Voices of ego in a bozo nightmare, one's on the polesack, the other in the bag, he hung himself with a guitar string, trade the cast for the beat, and my time is a piece of wax choking on the splinters. Sorry, that's what happens when you listen to Beck as you are trying to write. Soy un perdedor.
This weekend good stuff. First off we got FACE, acapella group extraordinaire, this Thursday night, April 24, at 8pm. $12. We recommend you get there an hour or two early if you wanna a seat.
Friday night we have the triumphant return of the King, Velvet Elvis himself. If you've never seen Velvet Elvis, he's the awesome young rockabilly version of Elvis. Chris Barber, the man behind Velvet Elvis will be accompanied by the stunning Susan Phelan on bass and Scotty Baxendale on drums. $7. After VE we'll have The Hollyfelds. The Hollyfelds have been making a lot of beautiful noise around town and we're stoked to have them back. We can almost guarantee you'll fall in love while you listen to The Hollyfelds. It's gonna be a rockabilly prom dream come true. myspace.com/thevelvete and myspace.com/
Saturday we have a killer show with Motorhome and Oakhurst. Oakhurst is already legendary in these parts for many good reasons. But come see why. They will charm your socks off and get you dancing too hard to hard roots music. Rumor has it a new CD will be ready for this show too. Porchmusic.com. Motorhome is an explosive Americana roots band. Check out myspace.com/motorhome and hear what we mean. (Also check out the poster there our gal Genevieve put together, subtle.) $10
So heck, that's a heckuva heckspacular weekend. Throw in salsa on Sunday night and whew, you gotta take a breath.
For the kiddies, Anya and the Music Train will be playing at Baby Boogie THIS Sunday (April 27th) from 2:00 - 6:00
For the bigger kiddies, next Wednesday, April 30, the Clamdaddys are hosting the triumphant return of Tempa from her kibbutzing sabbatical in Isael. The night should be electric with good vibes.
That's a rap,
D knuckle
Extra Credit: Somewhere in the outersphere of nowhere lays a planet in fear of itself, it's own inhabitants. Poetry comes to the rescue in the form of Wallace Stevens. So let us google him then and choose the seventh poem we come across, and give it to you in perfect need of whatever it may have to say. Whoops, actually the seventh poem, in the Poetry Foundation's archives, is too long for this forum, but the sixth is shorter and perfectly fitting, so we give you that instead. We have printed this same poem in these pages before, four years ago or so, but this poem is worth repeating every four years and so...
Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock
by Wallace Stevens
The houses are haunted
By white night-gowns.
None are green,
Or purple with green rings,
Or green with yellow rings,
Or yellow with blue rings.
None of them are strange,
With socks of lace
And beaded ceintures.
People are not going
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.
Only, here and there, an old sailor,
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
Catches tigers
In red weather.
early to mid April , ought eight
Hey evraba D,
Remember that famous Robert Frost line, "nothing gold can stay?" They made a big deal of that poem in the movie The Outsiders. Is that a myopic idea or what? I mean a leaf can lose it's first green gold, but the gold eventually comes back even more golden before it falls. And then the leaves comes back again next spring so what's the big deal? Yeesh.
This Thursday night, April 10, at 9pm we have a solid gold show as the fantastic EHF collective is doing their second group show at the D Note. This one is called Night Owls and we can't wait to see what these late birds have come up with this time. The last show was amazing. They'll have a terrific mc with them this time, Robin Samples, a super clever and goofy white criminal Q Tip type. Definitely check out his wack style at myspace.com/robinsamples. Check out some of EHF's awesome work at http://www.joyengine.com/tag/ehf-collective/
Earlier in the evening this Thursday, at 7pm, is a songwriter named Michael Ferry. This kid came up to us one night and told us it would mean a lot to him to play the D Note. So we listened to his music and, behold, it was good. $3. www.myspace.com/michaelferrymusic
Friday night we have Doc Rhythm for dinner music at 5:30pm. Think Neil Young done well.
At 7pm on Friday we have a duo from Chicago called Convergence. $5 myspace.com/musicconvergence
Then at 9:30pm we have the FINAL Friday night appearance of the great local salsa band Quemando. We'll miss them, but loved having them in residence for awhile. There's a big salsa convention in town, so there will be some spectacular dancers Friday night. $10. www.quemando.com
Saturday we have a book signing at 2pm, for a children's book called "Best Friend on Wheels". Check out the book and the details at www.debrashirley.com
Saturday night we have Convergence back for dinner music at 6pm. Then at 7:30 we have Dave Preston and friends back. Dave and his guitaristas have wowed the audience (and even themselves) with their symphonic guitar work the last few times they played the D Note. myspace.com/davepreston. After Preston will be Laura Newman's band Alive On Arrival. Solid funk band, great for dancing. Newman owns Herb's Hideaway, so we welcome her like a sister. aoaband.com
Next Tuesday we have the 18 piece Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra w/ Centennial high school Jazz band starting at 7pm. $5. DeGraff brothers begin their Tuesday night residency afterward at 10pm, for any of you odd ducks out that late on a Tuesday night. $216 for odd ducks, humans free.
That's the news for now,
Luv,
Sumba D
Extra Credit. Okay, so here's Frost's poem in its sad entirety. And here's one by Lower Arvada Poet AWD, in response, a fitting spring poem.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Under Winter Frost
She who loved the trees of goldengrove
Her cares deepening like the leaves falling
Until all that is left are leaf-bare branches
Will love no less for all the loss
The life at rest under winter frost
The promise of spring's first songs
early April, ought eight
blesseD,
Did y'all see the Westword "best of award" we got? They made up a category for us, which is fitting. "Best Pizza For Poets and Rockers". The little blurb Sheehan wrote is great, but we especially love the opening line, "The D Note is many things to many people". For us that is the highest praise because it is our goal to be many different things to many different people, thus, an expressed community. The blurb goes on to mention the art, the music and even the "newsletters full of poetry", one of which you are now reading. Then Sheehan goes on to call our Ballad Of A Thin man pizza Dylanesque, which is as good of an adjective as we can imagine, though, perhaps especially because, it is quite absurd.
This Friday, April 4, at 8pm we have The Great Henry Butler back in the house. The catagory is blind boogie woogie piano player from New Orleans. But that's like calling Louis Armstrong a jazz trumpeter from New Orleans. Butler is an artist, in Duke Ellington's memorable phrase, beyond category. (As we write this we are listening to Henry Butler guest host a show on KUVO. Serendipity.) After Henry we'll have U.S. Pipe. The leader of this band, Citrus, is from Arvada. He played with George Clinton and P Funk for awhile before coming back here to start his own band. U.S. Pipe is a great funk band, also beyond category. Last year they also played after Henry Butler. Henry sat in and it was pure musical magic. We expect nothing less this Friday. 8pm, $12, come early for a seat. www.henrybutler.com, www.us-pipe.com
Saturday night we are hosting a party for a new eco clothing boutique that is opening in Olde Town Arvada called Lovely. There will be dancing with two good local deejays, D.J. CJ and Bobby C. Proceeds from the opening party will benefit Environment Colorado. Also check out lovely boutique.net, myspace.com/djbobbyc. $5
Tonight, Thursday, April 3, come down and get lost in the Dixie grass of Pete Wernick and Flexigrass at 7:45pm. $7. www.flexigrass.com
Also, for your future file, we just booked The Great Otis Taylor on Friday, May 9th.
under and in,
AppleDees,
Extra Credit: Jason Sheehan wrote in his original review of The D Note, "A brief list of stuff I don't like: Poetry, with the exception of a few pieces by the likes of William Carlos Williams and T.S. Eliot and the shell-shocked blasphemy of Siegfried Sassoon." This is funny because, first of all, if your disclaimer to not liking poetry is naming three poets you like, that's a good sign you are a persnickety closet poet yourself. Second, you can't write with the panache of Sheehan and not secretly love poetry. So our poem today is dedicated to the poet in Sheehan's closet. It is by perhaps the greatest poet alive, Robert Zimmerman.
Ballad of a Thin Man
You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard
But you don't understand
Just what you'll say
When you get home
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You raise up your head
And you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says
"It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone?"
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You hand in your ticket
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel
To be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible"
As he hands you a bone
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You have many contacts
Among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To just give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations
You've been with the professors
And they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have
Discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of
F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read
It's well known
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan"
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin' around
You should be made
To wear earphones
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
late March, early April, ought eight
D ludes,
Perhaps because our brain is a little deluded we saw a little dude in the above "D lude". See it? The "D" is the head and the hand is giving the rock and roll horns, "lud".
Anyhoo, we got another great weekend for you. We've had over 250 of these for you so far, and this one is no less special. Friday night we have one of our top five favorite songwriters at 5:30pm, Dan Rodriguez (from Elephant Revival). No cover, but tips appreciated. Check out this video of one of Dan's sublime songs, youtube.com/watch?v=VeUlA_KefO4
At 7:30pm we have Gigi Love from Durango. Gigi played at Appaloosa's w/ The Clamdaddys awhile back. Those good gentlemen pointed her in our direction and viola, she is bringing her charm and talent to our stage. Check her out at gigilove.com. $3
At 9:15pm we have Quemando. This is a great band, even if you're not normally a salsa fan. Come check them out. Quemando.com. $10
Saturday for dinner music at 5:30pm we have Chris Aaron. Chris is a good friend and one heckuva great guitar player. One of our favorite little facts about Chris is he once took guitar lessons with Elizabeth Cotton. Talk about learning from a legend. For this show Chris is bringing in a piano player from Chicago he has been raving to us about, Ken Saydak. www.kensaydak.com. $5 (suggested donation to help cover Ken's traveling expenses)
Starting at 7:30pm we have a killer lineup, starting with our friend, the venerable Wendy Woo, back for a solo show. Following Wendy will be a rowdy dude from New Mexico goes by the name of The Freewheelin Skky Phoenix. myspace.com/skkyphoenix. Then Rosalie, myspace.com/rosaliedenver, and finally at 11pm, Three Miles West, myspace.com/threemileswest. $7 for the whole flippin shebang.
One last show to let you know about. We are big fans of April Fool's Day. Turns out, unsurprisingly, so is Little Fyodor. www.littlefyodor.com. Fyodor is like Dr. Demento, but cooler. He's bringing in Babushka, The Inactivists and The Mourning Sickness for this show. 9pm, $5. Should be plenty wacked and full of pranks. We can't wait. You can check the amazing poster they put together for this show at www.myspace.com/theinactivists
We're gonna get dressed now,
D Nudes
extra credit: A few weeks ago we featured a poem by zen beat poet Philip Whalen on account there is a new collected works out. But alas, we fear the poem was too long for some of you. So we include another shorter one this week, so that you too may be enlightened by the poetry of the man.
HYMNUS AD PATREM SINENSIS
I praise those ancient Chinamen
Who left me a few words,
Usually a pointless joke or a silly question
A line of poetry drunkenly scrawled on the margin of a quick
splashed picture--bug, leaf,
caricature of Teacher
on paper held together now by little more than ink
& their own strength brushed momentarily over it
Their world & several others since
Gone to hell in a handbasket, they knew it--
Cheered as it whizzed by--
& conked out among the busted spring rain cherryblossom winejars
Happy to have saved us all.
late March, ought eight
D bleu,
A very wise father once told us "You win some and you lose some." A very wise mother once told us, "Sometimes you are in the river and sometimes you are watching the river flow by." We had to go think about that for a thousand years. We shall think about it for at least a thousand more.
You know what the best free night of music is in Coloradical? It's Wednesday nights at the D Note with The Clamdaddys and friends. Was it always this good? Come see for yourself.
Tomorrow night, Thursday March 20, we also happen to have amazing music. Elevenet is playing at 7pm for $7. Check out this youtube video to get a flavor of what these jazzers can do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKo3Yvw-Jg
After Elevenet at 9pm is the super chill and groovy Joseph Barton Trio. Check out their tunes on Myspace here www.myspace.com/josephbartontrio
Friday night we have a high quality blues show with the world renowned blues man Tad Robinson. $10, $8 if you pick up tickets in advance: 303-godnote. Listen to Tad do his thing here www.myspace.com/tadrobinson. Tad is playing with local blues legend "Custom Deluxe". Never heard of them? Where you been?
Saturday night we have perhaps the hottest show of the season. This one is presented by the Candleman, and we'll let him give you his rundown of the show...
"This is a "Candleman Presents" show, and it's going to be a real daisy, consisting of 4 awesome performers (3 acoustic singer-songwriter types, and one 4-piece acoustic-like band). I have a long life ahead of me with plenty of shows to promote, but this one might be one of the best shows that I will ever be a part of. There is going to be so much great music in the house that night, that the only option is to start the show at 6:15.
Leading things off at 6:15 is going to be Jim Bianco. He is from L.A. and will be playing solo acoustic. I've never seen him before, but he comes highly recommended from very trusted sources! He's on tour around the country, and the stars are aligned just right where he is available to grace us with his presence this fine night. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity later in the night when he'll be able to step up for a short set as well.
After Jim, Gabrielle Louise will be taking the stage. Gabrielle shares her time between New York and Denver, and let me tell you...this woman can sing. Like many of you, I randomly met Gabrielle in the candle shop last year, and I'm glad I did. I haven't seen her play a full show yet, but one time she brought her guitar with her and sang me a couple of songs. Let me say it again for those of you in the cheap seats...THIS WOMAN CAN SING! My fingers are crossed that, like that day in my shop, we'll get a "Pancho and Lefty"...if we all join together in mediation and thought, perhaps we could even get Dalton up to join her! Most recently, she opened for Guy Clark at a Swallow Hill show, if that tells you anything. She's also a really good person trying to make a difference in the world. Check out her new song, "Save The Arkansas" where she's trying to help bring attention to the crisis in Leadville. She'll be interviewed on KCUV's "Local Music Hour" this Monday sometime between 10 and 11PM (102.3FM in Denver or 96.9FM in Boulder) if you're interested in getting to know her a little better.
After Gabrielle, the Hickman-Dalton Gang will take the stage. This show is very interesting in the fact that I'm sure most (if not all of you) have never heard of at least two of the other three acts. The one you should've heard of is the Hickman-Dalton Gang. If you haven't, let me catch you up to speed. They are easily one of the best acts in our fine state. It's just two guys with their guitars. Jim Dalton is the lead singer for the Railbenders, and Johnny Hickman is a founding member (lead guitar/vocals) of Cracker. They are both great guys and incredibly awesome musicians, singers, and songwriters. Here's a sample of what they do. These guys are worth the cost of the show alone. Catch them on KCUV next Friday when they'll be doing an in-studio performance around 2:00PM.
After HDG, the show is going to liven up a bit with a 4-piece act that hails from Philadelphia. Hoots & Hellmouth is their name, and they like to get rowdy (I'm sure we'll all get along just fine). They're on tour with Jim Bianco, and prior to that same conversation I mentioned earlier, I'd never heard their name. Their music was described to me as 4 guys, two playing guitars, one mandolin, and a stand-up bass, and "they all stomp on wooden boxes and sing." I've looked into it, and they are going to be a hoot. I can't wait to see them! Here's a couple of videos to help complete the picture (here and here). See for yourself.
The show is easily a $15 show, but it's only going to cost $10 at the door. Come early, grab a chair and a bite to eat, or show up anytime (but consider yourself warned...it should sell out) as there will be stellar music all night long! Oh yeah, bring your kids...it's an all-ages venue.
The pieces of the puzzle are in place. All you have to do is show up! "
There's something for you to consider. Also consider bringing the kiddies to the D Note to show them off in their Easter clothes. Maybe we can even get a fashion show going? Also consider finally learning salsa Sunday night. You shouldn't die first, you know.
Our new art show is super clever. Good job ehf collective. Check the show out here http://picasaweb.google.com/copingsaw/EhfCollectiveShowAtDNoteMagicBeansForSale
That's all we have time for now
que sera,
D fountain
Extra Credit: Our current favorite blog is newspeakblog.org. Our friend Noel Black runs it. He's one of the best poets we know. He says his 6 year old son Ursen is the best poet he knows. He's biased for sure, but just read the interviews with Ursen on the blog and you might tend to agree. Here's a classic Ursen answer, in which he speaks for all of us.
What else do you make?
Wait a minute, have we been forgetting art? Why haven't we been talking about the art. We're stupid and lazy! I'm permanently stupid! OK, art. Any way you can do, just use a pen and paper and then you're done. Well, you draw whatever you want, peoples. Let's deal with it! It goes smoothly because I get all my action in the brain. Why can't you use your brain sometimes. Why do you have to scribble and do nothing? Keep it in the brain! What you do is think while do it. That is the main course. Because if you don't think what you've been wanting, you put what you've been wanting in your picture and it shows it like a story. How does that sound? Try it! Right now! OK? Just get a pen and paper. Just go home and start drawing for goodness sakes. Or you can make a teepee, or you can make a fort or you can make frozen fruit cubes. And then you can make all sorts of things. You can add on to my recipe for things you can do. Let's try it!
Subject: St. Pat's, ought eight
Entire D,
Okay, it is upon us. The holy celebration of the driving of the snakes unto oblivion by the revered St. Patrick, which is a fancy mythic way of saying beer and debauchery, an occasion occasioned to us by the great diaspora of Irish folk into the byways of the known world, and especially here upon this continent, where they have conquered every town and municipality with their insidious bars and music and parties, the likes of which are unequaled in any other holiday celebrations. Very sneaky, Irish! Oh well, if you can't beat 'em join 'em is our motto. Our other motto is that if you can beat 'em make sure it is okay with 'em first.
We start the weekend, technically, tonight, March 13, at 7:45pm, with the Irish influenced band, Flexigrass, spear headed by the banjo legend Pete Wernick and his lovely wife Joan. That's right, bluegrass was in part inspired by Irish influences. I told you they were sneaky.
Friday night begins at 5:30pm with our Irish friend Martin Gilmore doing his and the songs of others beautifully. Then at 8pm make way for Angus Mohr. Angus Mohr does sexy rock and roll classics with a Scottish lilt. Dylan and Pink Floyd never sounded quite so grand as they do with the bag pipes and electric guitar of Angus Mohr. These guys have a fantastic light show too, adding to the musical drama. $10. angusmohr.com
Saturday night we have our friends The Indulgers back in the house for the third year in a row. Damien McCarron, the leader of this high energy Irish rock band, is a great character. Once he was handed a bottle of Bushmill's by a fan after a show. After the fan left he turned around and gave the bottle of Bushmill's to us, because he said, with a big smile, that he didn't drink Protestant whiskey. We knew he was just joking, but we enjoyed the Protestant whiskey anyway, thank you. Damien grew up with Bono and you can almost picture them running around the streets of Dublin together, pulling pranks on both Protestants and Catholics alike. Opening for The Indulgers will be Xiren. This guy's got Irish blood in him too. He's made a ton of waves around Colorado and has even packed out Red Rocks. He also does an excellent imitation of Bono. Maybe he'll pull it out on Saturday and temporarily confuse Damien. $10 myspace.com/theindulgers, myspace.com/xiren
Sunday we have a special St. Patty's Day Baby Boogie with Anya and the Music Train at 2pm. Should be lots of fun and antics.
Monday, for actual St. Patrick's day, we keep true to the democratic ideal that brought so many cultures to this country over the last few hundred years, with a democratic open stage hosted by ring master Jay Ryan. We strongly encourage you folks with Irish in your blood to come out. And, indeed, we will slightly cheat the democratic ideal on this particular open stage and give sign up time preference to anyone who can say, upon their honor, to have Irish blood.
We're out,
D Part
Extra Credit: We wanted to add a poem here by Philip Whalen, since Wesleyan recently (finally) published his collected works. But then we thought maybe we should add a poem by an Irish poet since that is the focus of this coming weekend for us. Then it hit us, maybe Whalen IS Irish, that would be a nice coincidence. So I googled "Phil Whalen Irish" and found that Whalen is indeed of Irish descent. Phil Whalen is one of the great beat poets, showing up as a character in a few Kerouac novels. We met him a decade ago in San Francisco. We were invited to lunch with him by our friend Edmund Berrigan. We all had lunch at one of Phil's favorite Chinese restaurants in North Beach. The first taste of the duck caused the blind poet to exclaim with glee how much he loved "these little duckie toes." We all laughed and then dug in. Here's an excerpt of long and beautifully thought out and revelatory "Irish" poem by Whalen.
Sourdough Mountain Lookout
FOR KENNETH REXROTH
I always say I won't go back to the mountains
I am too old and fat there are bugs mean mules
And pancakes every morning of the world
Then I'm alone in a glass house on a ridge
Encircled by chiming mountains
With one sun roaring through the house all day
& the others crashing through the glass all night
Conscious even while sleeping
Outside the lookout I lay nude on the granite
Mountain hot September sun but inside my head
Calm dark night with all the other stars
HERACLITUS: "The Waking have one common world
But the sleeping turn aside
Each into a world of his own."
I keep telling myself what I really like
Are music, books, certain land and sea-scapes
The way light falls across them, diffusion of
Light through agate, light itself...I suppose
I'm still afraid of the dark
"Remember smart-guy there's something
Bigger something smarter than you."
Ireland's fear of unknown holies drives
My father's voice (a country neither he
Nor his great-grandfather ever saw)
A sparkly tomb a plated grave
A holy thumb beneath a wave
Everything else they hauled across Atlantic
Scattered and lost in the buffalo plains
Among these trees and mountains
From Duns Scotus to this page
A thousand years
My sweat runs down the rock
I move out of a sweaty pool
(The sea!) .
And sit up higher on the rock
Is anything burning?
The sun itself! Dying
Pooping out, exhausted
Having produced brontosaurus, Heraclitus
This rock, me,
To no purpose
I tell you anyway (as a kind of loving) . . .
Flies & other insects come from miles around
To listen
I also address the rock, the heather,
The alpine fir
BUDDHA: "All the constituents of being are Transitory: Work out your salvation with diligence."
(And everything, as one eminent disciple of that master Pointed out, has been tediously complex ever since.)
There was a bird
Lived in an egg
And by ingenious chemistry
Wrought molecules of albumen
To beak and eye
Gizzard and craw
Feather and claw
My grandmother said:
"Look at them poor bed-
raggled pigeons!"
And the sign in McAllister Street:
IF YOU CAN'T COME IN
SMILE AS YOU GO BY
LOVE THE BUTCHER
I destroy myself, the universe (an egg)
And time-to get an answer:
There are a smiler, a sleeper, and a dancer
We repeat our conversation in the glittering dark
Floating beside the sleeper.
The child remarks, "You knew it all the time."
I: "I keep forgetting that the smiler is
Sleeping; the sleeper, dancing."
Today is the day the goose gets cooked
Day of liberation for the crumbling flower
Knobcone pinecone in the flames
Brandy in the sun
Which, as I said, will disappear
Anyway it'll be invisible soon
Exchanging places with stars now in my head
To be growing rice in China through the night.
Magnetic storms across the solar plains
Make Aurora Borealis shimmy bright
Beyond the mountains to the north.
Closing the lookout in the morning
Thick ice on the shutters
Coyote almost whistling on a nearby ridge
The mountain is THERE (between two lakes)
Rivers, sun, mule-dung, flies-
Can shift instantly
A dirty bird in a square time
Gone
Gone
REALLY gone
Into the cool
O MAMA
Like they say, "Four times up,
Three times down." I'm still on the mountain.
late February, early March, ought 8
D flowers,
To think that each and every one of us has some kind of drama they are living through, some kind of lesson they are learning. And then to magnify those problems times the world. Yeesh. It's enough to make you dizzy. But one solution to all problems can be found in the power of music and art. And that's something we are not short of at the D Note. So come get some.
This Friday, February 29, we have an art opening/closing for Tom Hamilton at 6pm. We are really digging Tom's unique sculptural paintings and will be sad to see them go next week. Come meet the artist and maybe even buy a painting. Tom's a local and one of the founders of the Mile High Disc Golf association which is how we met him. There is some amazing talent in the strange vortex of Arvada.
Starting at 7:30pm on Friday night we have Cobalt Jack and Average Joe Band. Just good old dance-able music all night long. $5
Saturday we have our Guitar Hero finale at 3pm. Should be lots of fun.
Then starting at 8pm on Saturday is DJ Uplifter and Lion Vibes. We've been trying to get Uplifter in for 5 years now, so we're excited to finally get him. Lion Vibes is new to us, but we've heard good things about this 9 piece band. $7. www.myspace.com/djupliftermusic, myspace.com/lionvibes. Finally, some reggae up in the house again.
Tonight, Thursday, February 28, at 7:30pm, we have 4 excellent singer songwriters brought together by Jay Ryan. One of those is Ed Skibbe, an old friend of ours. We haven't seen him for awhile and are looking forward to hearing his new songs. Here's the descriptions of the performers tonight that Jay sent out to his e-mail list...
Ed Skibbe http://www.edskibbe.com/
A staff songwriter for Ash Street Publishing in Nashville and a performing indie singer-songwriter, Ed's music resonates with roots and honesty. He has shared stages with some of America's greatest bands, including The Replacements, Los Lobos, Joe Ely, The Beat Farmers, The Subdudes, The Violent Femmes, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Highway 101, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Lost Gonzo Band and too many more to list. Ed has been called "the most underappreciated songwriter in America," a "lyrical whirling dervish" and "a timeless American voice." He has coached (as he likes to call it) hundreds of songwriters through private lessons and workshops and also teaches guitar, piano, voice and the music business.
Mark Putt http://www.myspace.com/markputt
Hailing from Colorado, Mark Putt is a singer songwriter with an eclectic background. Beginning his musical adventures 20 years ago as a punk rock guitar player, Mark then studied classical guitar as well as worked in the orchestra pit in musical theatre productions. All of these experiences have combined to give Mark his present high-energy acoustic rock storytelling style. Mark's music has been described as "dark humor with a hint of joyous self-destruction."
Matt Lome
A Windy City native, Matt began playing music at the adolescent age of 14. Living in such places as Ann Arbor, Michigan and Telluride, Colorado before settling here in Denver left their mark on Matt's musical style, which he describes as "folk rock-steady". Matt is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is "The Absolute Utter Truth About Woodpeckers", a wonderfully illustrated and rhyming tale of a man who... well, you'll have to read it to find out! Ask him about it!
Jay Ryan http://www.myspace.com/jayryanmusic
Drawing upon both his upbringing in the cornfields of Middle America and his experiences as a juggler in a circus (no foolin'), Jay Ryan's songs are an ever-entertaining blend of storytelling married with catchy hooks. Jay hosts the Monday night "Jay Ryan's Acoustic Big Top" open stage at the D Note. His music has received airplay on local radio as well as internet radio, and he was recently featured live on KCUV radio's "Local Music Hour".
Next Tuesday Legacy High School jazz band will be opening for the 18 piece Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra at 7pm. $5.
See dnote.us for the regularly scheduled events.
Also, thanks to Danielle for helping us get the following information out to you all:
As part of the Wadsworth Road improvements, North and South Bound Wadsworth will be closed at Wadsworth Bypass, Saturday March 1- Sunday March 2
For Southbound Wadsworth Traffic: Ralston Road/West 58th Avenue West to Olde Towne Arvada. Turn left on Olde Wadsworth. Olde Wads to Grandview. Left on Grandview
For Northbound Wadsworth Traffic: Wadsworth to 53rd, left on 53rd. Lane merges into Olde Wadsworth. Grandview across train tracks. Turn right on Grandview
Up, over and through,
D tached
Extra Credit: Lately we've been enjoying poetry of the sage 14th century Persian poet Hafiz. We included a poem by him a few weeks ago. Here's a couple more to contemplate.
1.
Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth,
"You owe Me."
Look what happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.
2.
If you think that the Truth can be known from words,
If you think that the Sun and the Ocean
Can pass through that tiny opening called the mouth.
O someone should start laughing!
Someone should start wildly laughing--
Now!
mid February, ought 8
D votees
Lots to report. Most significantly, the D Note has reached its fifth birthday! This is no small feat. The D Note began as a pipe dream by a family that had no real experience, nor much financial help, nor any real idea what it was up against. There have been several times over the years that it seemed impossible to keep the doors open, but some kind of miracle always came through to save us last second. Matthew and Monica DeGraff, with help from family and friends, steered the ship through some seriously treacherous reefs to get it out to sea. Congrats to them and the rest of the D Note family!
Over the years we've had many amazing nights of music and watched a beautiful community form. So to celebrate we're going to have a birthday party this Saturday with our favorite band The Reals. We hope you can all make it out. The Reals play at 10pm, Dan Walker at 9pm and Dave Preston at 7:30pm. $10. Woo hoo!
On Thursday night, Valentine's day, we've assembled two of the most romantic musicians we know, Aden Harrell and Moses Walker to perform from 6-9pm, no cover. We are unrolling our new pasta and dessert menu too. Not a bad idea to make reservations if you are coming out. By the way, we had lots of good entries for the pasta naming contest, but the winners were "Penny Lane", for the penne pasta dish, and "Atom Heart Mother" for the other. Not sure of the name of the person who suggested "Penny Lane", but their e-mail handle is crschiell. And Christy Hangin came up with "Atom Heart Mother". If you don't know the reference, "Atom Heart Mother" is one of the great Pink Floyd albums. Pink Floyd was unrepresented on our jukebox of a menu, so that is part of the reason we chose the name. The other reason is that it sounds cool. So congrats Christy and crschiell. Come claim your prizes.
At 9pm on Thursday we are having an UnValentine's Day party for lonely hearts and other miscreants with our friends The Inactivists, the perfect UnValentine day band. The bands Racecar-Palindrome and Skinflix will also perform. $5. There were two cool posters made for this show, check them out, www.myspace.com/theinactivists and www.myspace.com/d_note
Friday at 5:30pm for dinner music we have Moving Targets, a bluesy duo. And for our evening show we have The Dick Ramada Band, a solid local dance blues band playing their debut show at the D Note. $5
Other news:
Sunday - special Baby Boogie with Anya and The Music Train ** Note - due to popular demand Baby Boogie now starts at 2:00pm.
Guitar Hero - only two weekly tournaments left before the Final Tournament on Saturday, March 1st.
Got all that?
D minted
Extra Credit: Anybody see that movie Juno? Good movie. Kimya Dawson was responsible for much of the soundtrack. Nice to see an honest indie musician get some credit. We've dug her stuff since back when she was with the Moldy Peaches. Here's some lyrics off her most recent album, "Remember That I Love You".
I Like Giants
When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out and look up at the sky.
And I do this to remind me that I'm really, really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me.
But it's only really scary cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded, and so humbled, and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said 'I like giants, especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes, regardless of their size'
When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
And I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole
So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
So I talked to Geneviève and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead
When she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you Geneviève, cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends
We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
And yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
And I don't wanna make her cry
Cause I like giants
early to mid February, ought 8
Dear caught in headlights,
You are so cute. Don't worry, we're not going to hit you. We're going to give you a ride. Where ya heading? To the D Note to see the Clamdaddys? Us too!
Every Wednesday the Clamdaddys host a jam at the D Note. And this has been going on for like 5 years now. Here's to forever, tonight, Wednesday February 6, 2008. Come celebrate.
Tomorrow night Pete Wernick and Flexigrass make us look good with their impeccable and original jazzgrass blend. That's at 7:45pm. Go see 'em.
Friday night we have our friend Steve Edmonson at 5:30pm playing a smooth blues. Speaking of blues, we just got word that our old friend Lionel Young just won the International Blues Challenge that takes place annually on Beale Street in Memphis. Those of you that know Lione l aren't surprised he won, and we are glad he is getting some of his due. Congrats Lionel! We'll be celebrating Lionel's victory with the man himself on Friday Feb. 22nd, so mark it down on your calendar.
Friday at 8pm we have After Babylon, covering the big hits, working the dance floor.
Saturday night we have a big shew, a Mardi Gras celebration fit for a Queen. The evening starts at 7pm with the Otone Brass Band, a New Orlean's style brass band. These guys will be celebrating their fantastic new CD called "Untie Your Donkey". There is a zydeco dance lesson at 9pm and then Dikki Du and The Zydeco Krewe will take the floor. Dikki Du is the son of Roy Carrier, and therefore Zydeco royalty. He has played the D Note before and can even get the laziest fool in the room dancing. We'll have hurricanes on special and muffaletta's. And of course we'll have beads. Sound like enough fun?
Also note Guitar Hero at 3pm on Saturday, Baby Boogie at 3pm on Sunday, La Candela on Sunday night, open stage on Monday, jazz jam on Tuesday, etc. We're working hard to provide you with excuses to enjoy yourself.
One more thing, Genevieve, our graphic designer, bartender and lover, has asked us to ask you help a good cause and we said yes, so here's the pitch...
Vote for Eco-Cycle, Help us win $5,000
To celebrate their new store opening in Boulder and continue their tradition of environmental activism, Patagonia will donate $5,000 to the local environmental organization that gets the most votes in their Voice Your Choice contest. Cast your vote online for Eco-Cycle before March 29!
Let's go,
John Deere
Extra Credit: Just finished that "Eat Pray Love" book by Elizabeth Gilbert. We enjoyed it, learned a lot and met some great characters. In the book Gilbert alludes to a poem by Hafiz that made us laugh. Here it is.
God
and I have become
like two giant fat people living
in a tiny
boat.
We
keep bumping into
each other
and laughing.
mid December, ought 7
D Notinis,
Have you ever tasted yourself? We love the way you taste of fresh squeezed juice and chilled liquor made fermented from potatoes, of elegance and fun. Barkeep, pour us another!
This Thursday, Dec 13, we've got a band back in the house called BlueAvenue. They are a bit hard to describe but the group consists of violin, upright bass, guitar and vocals. Best thing to do is visit their myspace, www.myspace.com/blueave and listen for yourself. And check out the cool poster they did for this gig there too. They've got a sleek website too, blueavenue.org. $5
Friday night we have a band in the house called Sound Rabbit at 8pm. A little background. Our Hungarian accountant friend Barb caught these guys at a show at trilogy and said they were super fun. So at Barb's suggestion we got ahold of them and they were down for trying something at the D Note. Their myspace says they have a zillion or so friends, but I think they might be exaggerating. Nonetheless, they are an infectious band and if they don't have a zillion friends yet, I suspect they someday might. www.myspace.com/soundrabbit. Give it a quick listen and you'll be hooked. Our fire is stoked for this band. After Sound Rabbit, at 10pm, we have Caleb Riley and The Funk Orchestra. This is the band we got for our New Year's Eve party this year. If you haven't heard them, come see why we dig them so much. Full force funkalicious. www.myspace.com/calebriley. $5
Saturday night we've got a great show for your bluegrass jones. Head For The Hills is gracing us with their boot kicking presence once again. These guys are very inventive and very good. They've got Pete Wernick sitting in with them as they are all big fans of his. They've got a cool holiday theme going, check out the website at www.headforthehillsmusic.com. Opening, at 7:30pm is Little Liza Jane, a bluegrass group we haven't had yet, but have been hearing good things about. littlelizajane.net $7
More fun than you can shake a stick at!
Luv
D Note On The Beach
Extra Credit: Faithful reader AWD sent in a response to the verse of the Tao Te Ching that we included in last week's e-mail, so we'll present it as this week's poem, even though it isn't quite a poem.
Reflection Off The Tao
Yesterday i had been frustrated by work conflicts. Then the wife called aggravated because she took my truck and had to fill up radiator fluid. Then I got a biting e-mail from my mom and the world suddenly seemed against me. It all aroused in me in a fighting spirit. Later the wife came home as I was shoveling snow. She said something I took the wrong way and I snapped back and then she snapped back and I said let me just shovel. And so I shoveled. Afterward I was still steaming so I went for a walk in the park. I took a deep breath. I was listening to The Cure in the i pod. I sat on a bench (amidst a foot of snow) and looked up at two snow-covered pines. They were gently waving in the wind. I got lost in the music. I had been practicing finding the "bliss of eternity" that verse 46 of the Tao Te Ching said could be found in contentment, and, ah, here it was! I sat there engaged in a smile for awhile until The Cure's Robert Smith sang something in my ear, don't remember what, and it reminded me of verse 69 of the Tao Te Ching, about how when two enemies meet the one with compassion wins. With this reminder all of my previous conflicts disappeared. All the problems of my day melted away like a snowman in the sun. On the walk back home I saw some foot prints in the snow that looked like exclamation points. I took that as a sign...for dancing!...so i started dancing in the footprints. Pretty soon i realized that my boots were sliding on the ice of the sidewalk. So I danced up to the top of the hill and waited for the right climactic moment, ran as fast I could and slid all the way down the hill in sweet style.
early December, ought 7
D forests,
Here we saunter into winter, relatively happy or sad despite, or perhaps because of, the ever colder weather, depending on our disposition, rather than whatever else we could be if we so chose. Yes, exactly.
We have such a happy winter weekend planned. Jeff Schitter helped us put together a line up tomorrow night that promises to be legendary. First, at 7:30pm we have Paper Bird. The Westword music editor Dave Herrera recently wrote that this was his favorite new band. And we've been hearing glowing reviews about them everywhere. Check out www.myspace.com/paperthebird. Then Jim Dalton from the Railbenders is playing with a few of his buddies from The Railbenders and Big Head Todd. Check out the song "Whiskey Rain" at www.myspace.com/hickmandaltongang to get a taste of greatness. Rounding out the night is going to be one of our very favorite local bands, the sublime Elephant Revival Concept. www.myspace.com/elephantrevivalconcept. I'd recommend getting to the D Note early to get a seat. This is going to be one heckuva night. $10
Saturday we are closed for a private event. So you can take your food loving self and go to Cafe Brazil, the best restaurant in Denver, and then you can take your music loving self and go see Ozomatli at the Ogden.
Tonight, Thursday, Dec. 6, we've got Pete Wernick and Flexigrass. $7. Next Tuesday we've got a terrific Christmas show with the big band 18 piece Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra at 8pm. $5.
Also, the D Note has put together a great line up for NYE, both culinarily and musically, so mark it in your calendar. If you come for dinner you'll probably want to get a reservation. And you'll probably want to come for dinner. Here's a preview of the special menu our "4 star kitchen" has worked up. Appetizers: Shrimp Cocktail; Bacon wrapped scallops and Andouille sausage with cajun aioli and Green onion; roasted red pepper wrapped portobello and carrot with cajun aioli. Entrees (side salad included): Penne pasta with broccoli and diablo sauce (choice of chicken, shrimp or tofu); Fettuccini pasta with portabella mushrooms and Cajun cream sauce (choice of blackened chicken or tofu). Dessert: Chocolate and vanilla cannoli with traditional cheese filling and raspberry sauce. Hungry yet? And the music will be perfect for NYE. Aden Harrell Trio will start the evening at 6pm, then Bigga Digga will stir things up at 8pm and at 10ish we'll have Caleb Riley and The Funk Orchestra, super sick horn driven funk. We'll go crazy, just like those kids did back in 1999. After dinner at 8pm we'll start a $15 cover that will include a champagne toast at midnight. Wow!
Look out for us,
D trees
Extra Credit: The Tao Te Ching might be the best self help book out there, certainly one of the oldest. Sages have been contemplating it's deceptively simple advice for 3000 years now. Old Lao Tzu left us a brilliant guide for living life. Wayne Dyer has some new translations and brother Jeremy, a confirmed Taoist, has lately been reading one verse a day. We picked up his book and opened up at "random". Here's what we found.
Verse 46
When the world has the Way
running horses are retired to till the fields.
When the world lacks the Way,
warhorses are bred in the countryside.
There is no greater loss than losing the Tao,
no greater curse than covetousness,
no greater tragedy than discontentment;
the worst of faults is wanting more---always.
Contentment alone is enough.
Indeed, the bliss of eternity
can be found in your contentment.
Late November, ought 7
D sides,
Lots to report. First, we are holding a Guitar Hero tournament on Saturdays at 3pm starting in January. We have two practice runs set up before hand. The first one is this Thursday, November 29, at 5:30pm. Come be a hero. If you haven't tried it, take it from us, it is fun. Nothing quite like stepping inside of a Santana solo.
After Guitar Hero we have an acoustic showcase set up by Jay Ryan, which will include himself, Dave Preston and Dore Taylor. They'll play their songs in a round and back each other up on guitar. Jay has a penchant for finding talented songwriters, so come prepared to swoon.
Friday, for winetasting we have J.T. Nolan at 5pm.
Friday at 7:30pm we have a birthday party for our friend Kevin DeForrest. This is free and open to the public. There will be great bluegrass all night with 40 Gallon Still and McCumberland Gap. Happy birthday Kevin. Thanks for having so many talented friends! If y'all want a preview go to Kortmusic.com.
And that show should gear you up for the show on Saturday night which features last year's winner of both the Telluride and Rockygrass best band competition, the Spring Creek Bluegrass band. A rare feat as both of these competitions are fierce. Come see what the big deal is. Show starts at 7:30pm sharp. Only $7 for these guys. A super cool local band called The Hollyfelds are up afterwards. Check out their inspiring myspace page, www.myspace.com/thehollyfelds.
And we wind up the late night with a mystery band, go by the name of Big Wheel.
Monday there is no open stage. Instead there is a benefit for Love146, a children's advocacy group. They've lined up 3 local bands, 8:00 - John Connor Band, 8:45 Jason Stocker Band, 9:20ish - Rob Morris/Video-Founder of love146, 10:00 - Darren McCarthy (Band). Proceeds go toward helping Love146. Read about these action heroes at Love146.org
Then Tuesday we have an art opening for the new show at the D Note featuring the paintings of John Puntenney. This guys has some great ideas and a beautiful use of brush and color. Not easy to make abstract expression both unique and beautiful, but John manages. Come meet and support him. He's another talented local everybody should know.
And of course check out www.dnote.us for the rest of the scoop. Thanks for listening,
D brief
Extra Credit: A poet that takes time to know well is Eileen Myles. If you've never read her, here's one for starters. Pick up any of her many many books and dive in.
Rescue
Pushing towards
the end of another year in which I probably
didn't die. In which I raise the paw of a baby,
such a little hand and wave at the growling
furtive blasting sage black face
of barreling time. I place my bag
on the ground of the platform. I check my
watch. It's mine. I'm not
Jacob Boehme. No. There are moments
that only connect to other ones.
This is the nature of time in which
we are brave. I don't have
a little life. Yet I speak to you
through it. Look at the hand
I wave. My hand is strong and tan
with the branches of my blood
with the tiny spots and golden
hairs, with the protective
tips hidden by glass
tapping along. I hear you.
The seering sounds of the world
occur. It seems a system upholds
the presence of the not me
and its nothing alone.
In the rooms of the culture
across millions of wires and
gaps the invisible forms
that travel fast the meaningless
blasts of light are heading
right through my chest
and me? a bird seems to cheep
yes right through you too.
Inaccessible, ineradicable
the embarrassment of being part of it
glimmering a workman lifts his
chinging hammer
one piercing the other & the
next and the next
a joke for a god to be breathing through
the world the day a dish
Thanksgiving, 07
Drops of D sea,
Big shout out to all of you. Our deepest, widest and rootsiest thanks
going out to you, the community, this thanksgiving.
We'll be hanging with our fams on Thanksgiving proper, but Friday at
the D Note starts out with world class mando player Brian Mullins
playing the winetasting.
Then at 8pm we have The Lovely and Talented, The Beads and Colin
McGrath starting at 8pm. The Beads features Tony Achilles and Tom
Zingaro from The Reals. The Lovely and Talented features too many good
players to count, notable our friend JT Nolan. Just listen to the song
Maria on their website, www.thelovelyandtalented.com. $5
Saturday night we have a CD release party for the amazing blues
guitarist Sammy Dee. His new album is called "Business is Business"
and, apparently, he means business. Sammy has played with many greats
including a long stint with the legendary blues violinist Doug
Kershaw. Opening for Sammy Dee at 7:30pm, will be After Babylon. $5
Yours,
D Licious
Extra Credit: There is a kind of poetry in the joy and absurdity of
Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving song. So it'll do for the poem for this
week. Thanks to Genevieve's brother, Michael George, for reminding us
of this song. Please feel free to substitute "tofurkey" for "turkey"
if you are so inclined.
THANKSGIVING SONG
Love to eat turkey
Love to eat tur-r-rkeyyyy
(I LOVE U ADAM)
OO i love you
Love to eat turkey cuz it's good
I love to eat turkey like a good boy should
cuz it's turkey
to eat
so good
Turkey for me turkey for you
let's eat the turkey in my big brown shoe
love to eat the turkey at the table
i once saw a movie with Betty Grable
Eat the turkey all night long
50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong
Turkey-lurkey doo turkey lurkey that
i eat that turkey then i take a nap
Thanksgiving...is a special night
Jimmy Walker used to say DYNOMITE
THAT'S RIGHT
Turkey with gravy and cranberries
can't believe the Mets traded Darrel Strawberry
Turkey for you and turkey for me
can't believe Tyson gave that girl VD
OOOOO white meat and dark meat
you just can't lose
I fell off my moped and I got a bruise
Turkey in the oven and the buns in the toaster
I'll never take down my Cheryl Tiegs poster
Turkey and sweet potato pie
Sammy Davis Jr. only had one eye
OOOOOOO turkey for the girls and turkey for the boys
my favorite pants are corduroys
Gobble Gobble goo and Gobble Gobble giggle
I wish turkey only cost a nickel
OOOO I love turkey on Thanksgiving
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
mid November, ought 7
D ollars,
Holler!
Thursday, November 15, FACE. Need we say more? Acapella rock and roll.
Wildly popular. Starts at 8. Get there early if you want a seat.
Friday, Spencer Stevens for winetasting. Following Spencer, at 7:30pm,
will be Martin Gilmore, one of our favorite bluegrass songwriters and
performers. Then at 8:45pm we have salsa. Perfect for those of you
that have a hard time making it out on Sunday. Lesson at 8:45 pm,
followed by a rare appearance by the popular salsa band, QueMando. We
can't get QueMando on Sundays which is the reason we are bringing them
in this Friday night.
Saturday we have three up and coming college bands starting at 6:30pm,
Daryl Millard, 3AM and Regret Night. Google their myspace pages to
hear what they sound like. All quite good. Then at 10pm we have Drum
and Bass with Andy's Decompression crew. Drum and Bass is super high
energy dance music. Try it, you just might like it.
Short and sweet. Just for you.
D cent
Extra Credit: How about a poem with a beautiful conceit by one of our
"regulars", Dee Casalainas. Hope she won't mind us sending it out.
Also check out her terrific review of the D Note in the cool arts
magazine Wazee, http://wazeejournal.org/highly/dnote.htm
AWFUL READY (ALREADY FALL)
And, like the changing trees, we're dignified
With radiance. We don't acknowledge our unease
About the want that closes winter in parentheses.
We participate instead in a sarabande,
Glad to slow our tempo in a dance
We've memorized, but cannot understand.
This is the way of all things. Choice and chance
Step and turn in sentience, while the globe
Whirls like a dervish in trance.
In belief, or suspended disbelief, we probe
For purpose. How unlikely we exist!
Here it is, already fall. The sunlight's strobe
through yellow, gold, green, red, and amethyst
leaves the path we thought we knew ablaze.
The whole world is an amorist.
For a season we resist our sad malaise
Of too much, too much information,
Acquiesce to this astonishment, and praise.
Early November, ought 7
D lusions,
So much to say and such little aesthetic thought put into the font in
which it is being said.
We'll say it all later, in a better font. But for now...
We hope you will find the extra strength in you to come see the
Clamdaddys for Halloween tonight. The theme is Speakeasy, which you
can think about. This is our fifth Halloween party this year! The
pre-parties just got us warmed up. Super fun weekend it was too.
Tomorrow, Thursday, November 1, we have Pete Wernick and Flexigrass at
7:45 for $7. They got a little story in Westword this week. Check it
out, http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2007/10/qa_with_pete_wernick_of_flexig.php
Friday we have the eminent return of Oakhurst. These fellas are just
shake butt fun. www.porchmusic.com. Oakhurst is playing along with our
mutual friends, The DeWayn Brothers. The DeWayn brothers have a VERY
interesting surreal bluegrass aesthetic. Check out www.locomacheen.com
This is our kind of show, yo.
Saturday we have our third annual Samhain celebration with Angus Mohr.
Put on your kilts and let us rock and roll, Braveheart style.
www.angusmohr.com
And that's all the pews that's knit to fit.
What it soon will be,
D wrote
Extra Credit: We once read with Ange Mlinko at The Drawing Center in
NYC and were thus introduced to her strangely beautiful style of
thought. Here's the first stanza of a poem we like, to be found in
full in the new Drawing Center Anthology, "19 Lines".
ANGEL ENGLISH
What a punk tree surgeon of the anti-Versailles
would do to these right angles and rastered rosebushes!
while silk trees drop duds all over the august lines
of straight staircases, cursive as they fall
in whatever language the dividuous waves
use against the ramparts. Within the castelo,
goldfish write in strange sigils; words continue
their siege til three birds map a plane with song.
The song makes of space an integument
across which leaps the language of business.
The king worriedly writes something on black paper;
a tourist does the crossword, unconcerned.
The riddles he must answer at the northwest gate
resemble those clues, but in coin form.
Halloween, ought 7
Man-o-lanterns and ghoul friends,
Here comes the holiday of imagination and mischief. Where did halloween really come from, anyway? Doesn't it seem like it was a holiday that invented itself, over time, a kind of witchcraft, a subconscious wish of our pent up nation. This is the time of year we get to step outside of our identities and let loose. This is the time of year when we confront our fears, give in to our fears, become our fears and transform them into fun. This is the spout of the teapot through which the boiling water can whistle.
And we've got plenty of whistling to do this year.
Thursday night, Oct. 25, Denver School of Rock is throwing a Halloween party with their house bands. World Series will be shown on a giant TV.
Friday night we have the third anniversary Halloween party featuring Wendy Woo and The Reals. This year the theme is disco, so dig deep in your closets. Getting our voodoo on with The Reals for halloween. Does life really get any better? Prizes for best disco costumes. Yay, no World Series game.
Saturday night we an outerspace themed costume party. Opening we have Slo Children at 7:30pm doing a special halloween set. Slo Children is Adam and Jeremy DeGraff. Playing with us will be Adam Ferrill and Alejandro Costano. This will also be a CD release of Slo Children's halloween songs, "Born Ghost When Dead", so come get a copy while they last. After Slo Children will be the brand new band Quillion, featuring our friends Keny, Amanda and Geoff. Then at 9 we'll have Tempa and The Tantrums. We love Tempa and her unique style of scorching blues music. Serious mojo. After Tempa we have our friend Chris Aaron with some very interesting friends of his own, including Wally Ingram (check out www.wallyingram.com), most noted as Sheryl Crow's drummer. There will be prizes for most "far out" costumes. We'll have the world series game on too.
Sunday afternoon we have a special Halloween baby boogie at 3pm featuring the kids songs of Aden Harrell and Moses Walker, Keny Karnisky and The Brothers DeGrimm.
Sunday night we have our fifth annual Salsa Halloween Bash. Cojuntos Colores is the band. Cash prizes for best costumes.
And, last, but certainly not least, we have a Halloween party next Wednesday, on Halloween itself, with the Clamdaddys. The theme of this party is "speakeasy", so put on your flapper dress and do the charleston with us.
Whew. Somebody better take the teapot off the burner next week. Lest our pot boileth over.
We'll have the world series game on every night, starting tonight, so come get into the baseball fever with us.
Q. What do baby ghosts wear on Halloween? A: pillowcases
bwa ha ha,
D racula
Extra Credit: Here's the spooky promise embedded in the lyrics of the first song of Slo Children's Halloween CD, by Jeremy D.
Great Power
All you kids on Halloween get your candy, get away, I don't want to see you on my front porch no more.
If you want to see something really really scary, I've got something more for you in store.
Come back here around the witching hour and I will show you a great power.
It will make you laugh and scream, it will make your ears bleed,
it will make you go insane.
D players,
Take us out to D ballgame. Baseball fever is sweeping the town. And we're giving into it. We'll be bringing in a flatscreen TV so you can watch the World Series games while you get your halloween groove going next weekend. We've got 3 of our five Halloween parties this year scheduled during games of the series, which means that when they win each night we will celebrate with great food, champagne, beautiful music, dancing and wild costumes. See www.dnote.us for a description of all five of our halloween events this year.
But we still have a ways to go before Halloween hits, starting tonight...
The third Thursday of the month is the night we save for FACE, the vastly entertaining and popular a capella group. That happens to be tonight if you are reading the e-mail today, Oct 18. All seats get taken up quick so you have to get there early to get a table.
Tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 19, we have the season opener for Pete Wernick and Flexigrass. If you don't know who they are yet, go to Flexigrass.com and check it out. Legendary band with a phenomenal new CD out. $7 show. This is the start of Flexigrass' FIFTH season at the D Note, so let us kick it off with a bang. Then at 10pm we have a new alt country band on the scene, Rosalie. Good folk. Check out www.myspace.com/rosaliedenver
Saturday we have a salsa lesson and band. Lesson will be at 8pm. The band is a new one on the scene, Orquesta De Salsa. 10$ suggested donation. This is a benefit and door proceeds will go to Friendship Bridge, an organization that helps women in need in Guatamala by giving them start up business loans. Your donation will go a long way. We are honored to host such an event and hope you will join in the giving and dancing. This is a great opportunity for you people that have a hard time coming out to dance Salsa on Sunday nights.
Bases loaded,
D batter
Extra Credit: Our favorite baseball player growing up in Kansas City was Dan Quisenberry. We loved the different sidearm way he pitched. And we loved that he was a poet. He's got a collection of poetry, if you can find it, with the great title of "Down And In". Once, when asked by a reporter his thoughts about the future he replied, "The future is much like the present, only longer." For a nice article on him check out http://www.scc.net/~heather/quiz.html
In "Ode to Dick Howser", the Royals manager who died of brain cancer, Quisenberry wrote:
this small man
who fought big
now looked us in the eyes
just a man
who no longer talked of winning
but hinted at life beyond champagne
mid October, ought 7
bar D ranch,
full of sacred cows and tender chickens,
we greet you with a salutary run around the grounds to let you know what's happening this weekend in the farm house.
Tonight, Thursday, Oct. 11, we have awesomeness in the form of an eleven piece jazz band called Wil Swindler's Elevenet. www.jazz11.com . This is an 11-piece group featuring original compositions as well as other great music including Bjork, the Beatles, and Gil Evans It is comprised of some of Denver's best jazz players including Tom Ball, Peter Sommer, and Art Bouton. 5$
Tomorrow night, we have JSK, a venerable Denver cover band, at 8pm. This is their 26th anniversary show. Here's how this show got hooked up. Larry Luciano, from our favorite flower shop, Fiori di Flavio, walked up the street to us and made an offer he said we couldn't refuse. And when Larry Luciano makes you an offer you can't refuse, my friends, you take that offer. So you better be there! (The ranch has now been visited by the mob. If this e-mail were a musical it would be called "The Godpa".)
Anyhoo, Saturday night we have more of that brash brass in your face in the sweetest way possible. We've had a week of it, what with Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra on Tuesday and Elevent on Thursday. The big climax to the week will be the triumphant return of the Serafin Sanchez and Jeremy Jones Quartet. Check their impressiveness at www.myspace.com/serafin, especially the nifty D Note poster. $10, 7pm show.
After Serafin Sanchez we have Vegas Witchcraft on board at 10pm. This is jazz meets electronics meets everything it meets along the way, masterminded by Mark Wineberg. Mark is a keeper and we are always glad to have his music back around.
And just so you can plan ahead we have Face next Thursday, Pete Wernick and Flexigrass season opener next Friday and a special Salsa show on Saturday with Orquesta La Salsa, with all proceeds to benefit Friendship Bridge (which provides business loans to Guatemalan Women in need). Did ya get that, Bain?
Okay, get to doing whatever it is you do on the ranch out there,
Holler,
Bar D Ranch hand (left)
Extra Credit: Sometimes, after all the chores get done, we like to read some poetry. Seems like every time we pick up Frank O'hara's massive Collected Works we find some gem we've somehow never noticed before. Here's the latest.
A Quiet Poem
When music is far enough away
the eyelid does not often move
and objects are still as lavender
without breath or distant rejoinder.
The cloud is then so subtly dragged
away by the silver flying machine
that the thought of it alone echoes
unbelievably; the sound of the motor falls
like a coin toward the ocean's floor
and the eye does not flicker
as it does when in the loud sun a coin
rises and nicks the near air. Now,
slowly, the heart breathes to music
while the coins lie in wet yellow sand.
early October, ought 7
demales,
Would you consider yourself a demale? (raised eyebrow). What is a demale you ask? A demale is similar to a female, except it is two letters higher up in the alphabet. It is not to be confused with the d-mail, which you are now reading. After all, can you separate the reader from the read?
Dear reader, tonight, Thursday, Oct. 4, starting only a few hours after this d-mail is sent we will begin our extended weekend. PeaceJam, the global heroes from our own little neighborhood will be having a party starting at 4:30pm celebrating their two amazing colleagues Ryan Hanschen and Shannon Styers. PeaceJam has asked us to invite the greater d note community to this party so come on out and meet the amazing colleagues.
At 7pm we have a benefit for the Rebecca Taylor fund. Rebecca is incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars of uninsured debt for lymphoma cancer treatment. So a friend of hers put together this benefit w/ music by Vanessa Voss and the bands Safety First and Regret Night. They are asking a $10 donation. We love being a part of these kinds of heartfelt happenings. Come hear some new bands and help make a contribution to a woman in need.
Tomorrow night for winetasting the unreal Aden Harrell is bringing his tri-tone jazz trio to the D Note.
Then, at 8pm, we have John Denver, followed by Elvis at 10pm. That's right, John Denver, then Elvis. What a coup! John Adams, will be playing the part of JD. The twist? John Adam's is Dutch. That's right, a dutch John Denver. Elvis will be played by Chris Barber, who goes by the name of Velvet Elvis. He's super smooth rockabilly, with more than a bit of Elvis in his pelvis. He'll be playing with the mesmerising stand up bassist, Susan Phelan, the October 2007 Miss Colfax. (check it out! http://www.colfaxavenue.com/misscolfax-oct07.php).
Saturday night we have a special birthday show for our friend Danielle Hastings with OAKHURST and Dan Walker and the Sky. Dan is a phenom and Oakhurst are our homeboys and always get us wound up moonshine style. It is rare to have Oakhurst and we are bursting at the gates for this one.
Next Tuesday we have a special show at 7:30pm, the 18 piece Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra. Come feel that.
These announcements were brought to you by the letter d
the Deminist
Extra Credit: We highly recommend renting the Neil Young concert movie "Heart of Gold". It is soul stirring stuff. We saw it recently at the hi-dive on Broadway and the experience was transcendent. So this week, a little of Neil's poetry.
I want to live, I want to give
I've been a miner for a heart of gold
It's these expressions I never give
That keep me searching for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old
I've been to Hollywood
I've been to Redwood
I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind, its such a fine line
That keeps me searching for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old
late September into early October
D rise,
Hey, guess what. You guessed it!
No more guesswork now. I'm serious, Jim. Question. What does Jim Halpert have to do with anything?
Tonight, at the D Note, in beautiful olde town Arvada, starting at 7:30pm, we have the first installment of a series of songwriter rounds by our open host mike Jay Ryan. He sent out his own descriptions of the songwriter's tonight, so i'll just cut and paste his words in here.
"Hi, all!
Just wanted you to know about the first "Songwriter Showcase" I'm putting together! It's at the D-Note in Arvada on Thursday, September 27th, from 7:30 - 9:30 (so those folks with real jobs can still get up the next day).
I'll be joined by three really talented area singer / songwriters, and all four of us will perform our songs "in the round" - at times solo, at times joining in on one another's songs.
This is a great chance to see live music at a fantastic venue with great food; the D Note has been described as having "the dopest hippie pizza in the Front Range". While I probably wouldn't have used those terms myself, I can tell you that speaking as a transplant from outside of Chicago, they have the best pizza I've found in Colorado.
As for the players who will be joining me...
Rob Drabkin http://www.myspace.com/robbrocks
With a voice reminiscent of Dave Matthews and Damien Rice and his unique guitar stylings, Rob always leaves audiences impressed. He's played with local celebrities Wendy Woo and Nina Storey as well as opening for national acts such as The Wood Brothers, Tim Reynolds, The John Butler Trio and Leon Russell. Rob has been featured on well-known Colorado radio stations, 99.5 The Mountain and 93.3 KTCL, and KBCO's Studio C. His song "Sweet Things" is currently in rotation on Sirius Satellite radio's Coffee House, Channel 30, and his newest CD "Don't Worry About Me" is currently receiving local radio airplay.
Dave Preston http://www.myspace.com/davepreston
Dave Preston began his career as one third of rock band The Echo, playing lead guitar and sharing singing duties. Several years later, he embarked on a solo career, with the CD "Who I Used To Be", garnering radio play and performances around Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. In 2005, Preston released his first all acoustic album "Reality", which included fan favorites in their most stripped down and bare form. Some of these songs are re-imagined and in some cases, torn apart and reconstructed on "Enjoy Your World" which took over a year and a half to complete.
Dore Taylor http://www.myspace.com/doretaylor
The first thing that strikes you about Dore Taylor is his appearance. Looking far younger than his 19 years, this baby-faced and often barefoot lad will have you wondering what someone so young is doing out on a school night... and then he begins to play and sing, and the only thing that comes to mind is "Wow". With a voice reminiscent of Howie Day and Jason Mraz, this relative newcomer to the Denver music scene has taken the area by storm, performing in venues from coffee houses and pubs to Denver's Ogden and Oriental Theaters.
Oh, yeah... and then there's this guy...
Jay Ryan http://www.myspace.com/jayryanmusic
Escaping his roots in the farmland of Middle America, Jay Ryan made a break for it on the off chance he'd see the one thing he'd always longed to see: topography. Heading west and plagued by rain, wind, locusts and Republicans, he trudged onward to finally settle in Denver. Host of a highly successful Monday night open mike night at a small club in Denver, Jay has moved the festivities to the D Note where " Jay Ryan's Acoustic Circus" appears on Mondays. His song "Laslo" has received play on internet radio, and he's lent his bass talents to local artists such as Mike Wolf and Jamie Krutz.
Come on out! See a show! It'll be fun!
Thanks!"
So then, what does that have to with Jim? Well, after that show, around 10, we'll just sit around watching episodes of The Office, season 3. Anyone care to join us for a viewing party?
Tomorrow night we have Chris Aaron at 8pm. Chris is an amazing guitarist and songwriter who has toured with Jackson Browne, Jane Weidlin and a ton of others. But by himself, he's just beautiful.
After Chris we'll have an old fashion conscious hip hop show and performance poetry kind of thing, presented by the infamous record label House Of Waxx. Featured will be the House of Waxx band 3 The Hardway. It's a birthday party for our doorman Phil's friend Crystal and it should be some good getting down. $3
Saturday at 7pm we have the return of The Bad Directions. They played a couple of weeks ago and we dug it and asked them back, acoustic country rock, good stuff.
Then at 9pm on Saturday we have THE BIG SHEW. This is Zydeco legend Roy Carrier. Man, what an honor to have him come back to the D Note. We've had a dozen excellent zydeco acts in the D Note, but the way Roy suffuses the blues into the sound is the best. It feels like Louisiana swamp mud coming alive and taking over the dance floor. Roy starts at 9:30pm, but there is an introductory zydeco dance lesson at 9pm. All for $10. www.roycarrier.com
Also, beware Dwight!
The killer,
Substance D
Extra Credit: We keep wanting to include this poem we like by this local poet who goes by the name AWD, but it always seems too long to include after so much information. Most of us can't sit and read so much on the computer. But this poem is worth paying careful attention to, so we suggest printing it out and setting it somewhere, like next to the toilet, where you can read it later at your leisure. At your leisure is important, as the poem will demonstrate.
How To Learn To Play Music
by AWD
Forward:
Do you love music? If not then you have forgotten.
Or maybe you never knew. If so, then there is much joy
in store for you, far more than you have ever realized.
If you already love music, then you can easily learn to play.
What you have to remember as you play is why you love music.
This is not always easy. Why is that? Try to find out.
Once you find out you can learn to play beautifully.
I suggest putting yourself on a ten year plan. That is an idea I learned
from my old roommate, Edmund Berrigan. Ed gave himself ten years
to learn the guitar. When I met him he was in year five and already
sounding pretty good playing Skip James, Missippi John Hurt, etc.
Pretty good. But now he is in year twelve and playing his own style beautifully.
In fact, he's in a band in Brooklyn called "I Feel Tractor", living the dream.
Do the Google. Request him to be your friend.
I liked Ed's plan because it gave me time to go slow and enjoy myself.
It seemed like I could handle learning to play given ten years time.
I am in year seven. And even though I have never been disciplined about it,
my progress seems remarkable.
One essential thing though, which will, tragically, unable many of you
from ever getting down to it, is leisure time. Listen to Gertrude Stein,
"It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much
doing nothing really doing nothing."
So I guess that makes two requirements for learning, love and time.
Likely, if you are reading this, you already dig poetry, which means,
since music is a necessary component of poetry, you dig music.
And it also means you've got enough time to play some music too.
So, having already narrowed the field before we even began
I think it is safe to continue with the few of you actually reading this.
My feet are cold. I'm starting to shiver. I think autumn has arrived.
I'm going to go put socks on. That should do the trick. SmartWool.
Product placement inside of a poem. That's almost an OxyMoron.
I should maybe ask SmartWool if they would like to sponsor this.
Anyway, I digress. And that's key. Digression is an important part of playing music.
That's where the "play" part comes in. You have to play around, like a kid.
This is possibly the most important lesson in learning music.
What for if not joy? I find I have to enjoy what I do, if I can help it.
I can't always help it, though. Right now for instance I'm on heavy antibiotics
for my bad gums. The taste it leaves constantly in my mouth
is so unnatural and bitter that I can't quite ignore it.
Nor can I quite ignore the bad gums. Nor can I quite ignore
the bad gums of the rest of the world. However, I CAN play music.
You may have noticed how wealth of spirit may triumph over sickness of body.
Music is a pathway to wealth of spirit.
Lesson 1
So, how to play. Well, for instance, when I first started
I would pick up Ed's beater guitar and beat on it, to the beat
of whatever happened to be going on. I didn't know I was doing anything really,
but in retrospect I can see that I was learning to get in the groove.
So that is your first lesson, drum on your instrument to the beat.
The radio, or a favorite LP are both wonderful things to drum along with.
They are also helpful for the second lesson.
Lesson 2
You should tune your instrument. If you need instructions, consult the internet.
While you are listening to your favorite record, or the radio,
find a note on the high end of your instrument that sounds like it fits in
to the overall sound of the music. You'll quickly find that some will fit better than others.
And a few will sound especially sweet. Once you have three or four notes
that go with the music you're listening to, then try get inside the groove
of the song using just those few notes, playing them in different patterns.
Pretty soon, you will find a pattern that sounds right with the music.
It doesn't take as long as you would think.
Once you have a pattern, try to play around with the pattern itself.
These musical mutations in the patterns will help your playing
evolve without any drudgery of practice. You get there just by playing.
On the high notes you can turn these patterns into a solo.
On the low notes you can turn these patterns into a bass line.
Spend the rest of your life doing this. It is a thrill to play along with a great song.
I wish I had known that secret when I started playing. Instead I learned lesson 3 first.
Lesson 3
Chords. There is a little work involved here. But thankfully not much.
You have to memorize 2 or 3 chords. What happened with me is I got inspired to try
by a girl I was in love with who wanted to teach me. She taught me three basic chords on a guitar, G, C and D. None of these chords are particularly difficult to play, though it takes
a little build-up of finger muscle. Have you ever noticed how rapidly muscles will build?
It's unbelievable.
If you play a lot, which you will do if you have the time and are having the proper fun,
then you may also develop calluses. Calluses are cool. They make it so you can play longer.
Once you have learned just two chords, say G and C, then you can make up a song.
Play four counts of each chord, back and forth, and get into the groove of four four time.
Now try adding words. In this way you will be shocked how easy it is to add a melody
to the basic structure of the chords. This melody will be surprisingly beautiful
and you will want to keep singing the words to the melody over and over.
This is one way to get the chords down. It is also the way to write a song.
Like the three or four notes mentioned in the previous lesson, two or three simple chords
can have surprising depth of play. You can spend your life discovering the bottom of it.
As Woody Guthrie said, "Any more than two chords and you're just showing off."
Afterward:
That should be enough to get you started. Where you take it from there is anyone's guess.
The great guitar master Keith Richards has admitted that he has barely begun to explore
the possibilities inherent in the six strings of his guitar.
But for now just keep playing until you get lost in the music. You learn to let it play through you. And then you are suddenly much more than you ever imagined you were, a unique speaker through which the divine music of the spheres can hear itself played. The first few times you see your fingers moving without you is startling. How can they be playing
by themselves? But then you finally accept that the music has arrived in you.
Fine print: Music is a jealous god.
That's all I know. I hope these lessons have helped change your life for the better.
mid to late September, ought 7
D cusps,
Here comes winter. Some of you are still holding onto summer. We would include ourself in that category. Some of you are looking forward to the snow, love the stuff, love surfing endless esses through the pristine white pages of icy snow. We admire those people and hope to learn their ways. We pledge to hit the slopes once a month this season, and learn to open up the jewels in our throats to the god of winter. If you too fear the numbing cold of winter, take the pledge with us and conquer the beast of inertia.
Dancing, another excellent way to loosen your collar. Tonight, Thursday, September 20th, we have a special show. I know, we have a lot of special shows. But that doesn't make this one any less special. Go to www.myspace.com/consciouselliot to see the poster. Then look at the top 2 friends after the D Note and go to their pages, Kate Laurel Smith and Rob Drabkin. These guys are all making waves out there. And they are the types we like, talented, dedicated, laid back, and very into the music. You'll take something precious home with you.
Friday night we have a BIG SHEW. First we got Matt Jones from Albuquerque at 7:30pm opening for Lord Loves A Working Man from the Mission District of San Francisco at 8:30pm. The Mission District may well be the most creative community in the U.S., chock full of artists, all influencing one another. Which is to say we are really looking forward to hearing what it is up to through this band, a 7 piece Stax of wax/Soul band. See www.lordlovesaworkingman.com. Then our headlining band is Caleb Riley and The Funk Orquestra from Ft. Collins, another 7 piece band, more in the funk tradition. They're terrific. It is strange how this night just organically happened. Nobody really put it together. These musicians just all got a hold of us separately and asked for this date and we arranged it. And yet it all got put together perfectly. That kind of magic tends to happen a lot at the D Note. We are graced and we get down on our knees and prostrate ourselves to the goddess of music.
Saturday, we shall all rest. No, seriously, we just switch channels and turn it up with a band called Feed & Seed from Bellingham Washington for a dinner show at 6pm. We didn't even have to listen to this band to love them because in their influences on their MySpace page they have both Open Road (our favorite bluegrass band) and Cyprus Hill (insane in the membrane). That tells you all you need to know. www.myspace.com/feedandseed. Their tag line is "now with 33% less and!" Brilliant. At 8pm Mike Wolf and The High Country Band return. Then at 10 John Crogan gets up with members of Buckskin Stallion, Whiskey Trip and Buckwild and will tear it up, country style. Yeehaw.
Yeesh, It feels like we're having a festival this weekend! Hope you'll join us to help make it more festive.
Check out,
D natural
Extra Credit. Long D-mail, thus a short poem. A haiku, by you.
jewel in the throat
reflects the red rock melting
the heart of the poet
mid September, ought 7
D orama,
So sunday night, during salsa, we had a nice conversation with a couple. After a few minutes they revealed that they were just married. We asked them if they were salsa dancers before they were married and they said they met at the D Note two years ago on the dance floor. This we love, a sense of purpose fulfilled. Helping friends and lovers meet, helping musicians and artists hook up, this is our favorite thing.
Another favorite thing is a benefit. We are having one this Thursday, September 13, for Water For People. Water for People helps people in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs. The main WFP office is here in Denver. www.waterforpeople.com . There will be two good bluesy bands, Day Job Keepers ~7-7:30, and The Jake Leg Shake ~7:45 - 9:15. They will take donations at the door.
Then at 9:30pm, we have a rare event, the Eric McFadden Trio. Eric McFadden, sexy rock and roll troll, a killer player we used to go see whenever we could back in San Francisco, and now are proud to have here. We're not quite sure exactly how we managed to get Eric's only show in the Colorado area, but it's a good sign. Read the terrific Guitar Magazine article about McFadden on his website, www.ericmcfadden.com, to show you what's up. Starts around 9:45 and cost only $10. Oh yeah, McFadden, a guitarist, also toured playing mandolin with George Clinton and P funk. Sweet. The last time we were in S.F we went to our favorite Mission District bar, Amnesia, and Eric played a surprise set in the middle of a gypsy punk fashion show. So it is especially cool for us to be hosting him in Arvada.
Friday we have a singer named Molly Cherington for winetasting. Then we have the popular Latin soul of James Hurtado at 7:30pm. And at 9pm we have an 80's cover band called The MoorHeads. This band was a request for a regular's birthday party, and we like to take requests.
Saturday day we have a recital by several rock bands put together by the Denver School of Music, at 3pm. Then at 7pm we have a birthday party for Adam DeGraff. Since Adam books the bands he gets to book whomever he wants for his birthday, within reason, and maybe without. This year he has The Bad Directions playing acoustic at 7, then one of his favorite local songwriters Dan Rose, from Elephant Revival Concept, is putting together a special band at 8pm. Then at 10pm Adam's favorite local DJ, Terrasonic, will be spinning worldbeat dance music. Come spank Adam. Gently.
There ya go, another fun filled weekend. For the rest of the calendar, check online at www.dnote.us
thanks and evermore,
D onysius
Extra Credit: Since it is Adam's birthday we'll include a poem from one of his favorite poets, Noel Black. Noel lives in Colorado Springs and runs the amazing blog www.newspeakblog.com . Here's one from a beautiful handmade book of his called "analogs of chemical thought sawed from a largley dark helmet of huh?"
Air Born
Cloud puff--afloat above it &
Always startled by the loft of tin
bulk full of people in the ether...
Plane crash in Little Rock yesterday killed nine &
"Holding Instructions," the flight attendant says...
Holding Instructions:
Please hold me--I'm
lonely as an airport lobby
though...
evening light makes the Pacific's skin
a taught bronze kettle drum &
the sun soft mallet will descend soon
to beat the night's first tone...
Cloudy as I may be in this world
of white clump & shadow fold--my head
a-snow-drift in tree tops...
I know that I was stupid to think love...
There's nothing but air up here
while you
below--
our love
& lovely
early September, ought 7
D mentia,
One of the (suprisingly many) cool things about Arvada is the Harvest Festival they have every year there. Strange to think about the ways the Harvest Festival have changed over the years. For one it has become less literal. We don't think so much of actual farm crops being raised there anymore. Our harvest is less tangible now, but meaningful nonetheless, as we reap in music, art and community. The festival has also changed because of Renee Nelson and her father Rick who took it over several years ago and have an independent and creative spirit. Rick's one of those guys who travels the world to go U.F.O watching for sport. This weekend, the 82nd annual Harvest Festival, there are contests for craziest garden hat, longest standard green bean, best dressed pet, most unusual vegetable and best pirate costume. The theme for the parade is "let's dance". That's our kind of parade. Here's the url so you can check out the rest of the fun things they've got planned, http://www.arvada.org/community/index.php?pid=4381
As for us, it seems like we celebrate Harvest Festival every day. Tonight, Thursday, September 6, we reap in a band called TapWater, a super fun band from San Diego that blends rock, funk, Latin, jazz, bluegrass, country, blues, and pop into terrific music. Sounds like our kind of group. Starts at 8pm. www.tapwatermusic.com
On Friday night we have Laurie Dameron, a winetasting favorite, on guitar. And this time she is bringing along Jeff Fournier on bass. Then starting at 8:30pm we have The Jagtones. The Jagtones do the eighties music up right. They packed the place last time they played, so it should be a good time.
Saturday we have a line up that goes a little like this, 12pm Chris MacManus, 1pm Mike Wolf,
2pm Scott Mossman, 3pm Dan Shields, 4pm Ted Taylor, 5pm Jay Ryan, 6pm Tritone Jazz Band featuring Aden Harrell, 7:30pm Sharla Jackson Band Light, 9-11pm Stonebraker, 11pm Reckless Red. No sweat. By the way, this, sadly, is Stonebraker's final show. And they are going to say goodbye by ripping the night up.
Sunday we have Elenii Light Jazz Ensemble at 11am, David Bailey at 1pm, Six Foot Joe & The Red Hot Rhinos at 3pm, mystery guests at 4pm, Salsa lesson at 8pm and Cojuntos Colores salsa orquesta at 9pm.
Monday night Adam D hosts open stage, Tuesday night we have the a capella band FACE instead of the jazz jam. (Come early for that one if you want a seat), Wednesday we have The Ever Great Clamdaddys. And next Thursday, early warning, we have Eric McFadden in. Just spend a few minutes on his website and you'll start to see why we are warning you. We are super excited about that one. We've seen him a few times in San Francisco and were always impressed. He's one of those underground legends that will take the D Note to a whole new level just for having played there. www.ericmcfadden.com
Thanks for listening,
D ranged
Extra Credit. Sometimes we have to concentrate hard to think of one poem to include here, but lately we've been reading a lot of poetry and have to concentrate instead on choosing just one. The poem most on our minds, though, is one that helps remind us of something way too easy to forget. Another gem by the mystical 13 century Sufi poet Rumi...
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
they're in each other all along.
D fame
How the heck are ya? What's ya doing for labor day weekend? What we are doing is having a ton of friends over to play music. We have David Bailey for the winetasting tonight from 5-7, then at 8pm Ken Karnisky, then some new friends brought to us by Ken, a band he has been raving about called Beneath Your Ego. And finally at 10 we have the return of our friend Matt Doughtry's band 10 ft. tall. Remember that band Marillion? They sound a bit like them, or think early Genesis.
Tomorrow night we finally get our friend Turtle's band Paying Tuition in to play. If anyone deserves a weekend slot from pure persistence it is these guys. They have been playing our open stage for the last 4 years. And it has been cool to watch them slowly evolve and improve. They are playing after friends Lexx and Ali and before a band we haven't heard yet, brought in by Turtle, called Early Grace.
Also, note, whenever there is a 3 day weekend our Sunday night salsa is especially off the hook. There's nothing quite like the energy of a few hundred salsa dancers heating up the D note. So come check it out.
Verily,
D funk
Extra Credit: We got a chance to hear the great Denise Levertov read her poetry while she was still alive, 15 years ago in Seattle. She had a lilting rhythm when she read that put you in a trance. The trance made it very difficult for the conscious mind to follow the poetry, but you got the impression the words were getting to the deeper part of you anyway.
In last week's d-mail we wrote a "complaint" in the old fashion sense of the word, a sort of anti-complaining complaint. So imagine our surprise this week to find the following poem by Denise Levertov called Adam's Complaint, with the same basic idea...
Adam's Complaint
Some people,
no matter what you give them,
still want the moon.
The bread, the salt,
white meat and dark,
still hungry.
The marriage bed
and the cradle,
still empty arms.
You give them land,
their own earth under their feet,
still they take to the roads.
And water: dig them the deepest well,
still it's not deep enough
to drink the moon from.
late August, ought 7
Dee Dee Ramone,
We love you. Have you and Jerry Garcia finally made peace up in heaven? It just so happens like that in the environs of The D Note. For instance we still have Katie Herzig's haunting songs stuck in our head from Tuesday. And the Clamdaddys gave everybody a good time on Wednesday night. And now we have Tzol from Kan'Nal bringing his musical magic to the stage tonight. Hard as we try, it is very difficult to complain on a week like this, with such sublime music, with such sublime weather. Come on, we have to try harder!
Also playing tonight with Tzol is Daniel Katsuk from AAA, a gifted performer and Dan Walker, certainly one of the 10 best songwriters in the area (which is saying A LOT in this particularly fertile region.) Tzol, however is not quite from this region, more like from some enlightened alien planet. We saw him at Burning Man with his tribal psychedelic band Kan'Nal and were verily transported. Come see why. We are grateful to The Candleman for bringing us this gift of a show. www.myspace.com/tzolmusic.com
Saturday night we keep the primitive tribal flavor going with our summer Hafla, presented by Phoenix. Basically it goes like this: Several belly dance troupes perform dances and then everyone dances afterward to the wild middle eastern inspired music of Yallah! Sound like fun?
Who's trying to complain? Hey, come dance. That's better than guilt, anyway.
And if you are still not convinced come check out the rest of what's going on at www.dnote.us
Love
Dee Snider
Extra Credit: The archaic and original meaning of the word complain was to write a song or compose a poem. Since we are listening to Katie Herzig's songs as we write this, we shall now complain to her.
Complaint for Katie Herzig
I put your blue see-through songbird with the leg chain
on the front of the laptop currently playing your music.
Inside the bird's stomach you can see The Apple,
the famous white one with the bite, all lit up.
From out of the bite flutters a purple butterfly.
My wife put that sticker there first, a sticker now stuck
beneath the songbird sticker. It seems quite happy there
flying around inside of the prettiest song the little bird sings.
mid August, ought 7
D buckles,
Hey ya! Lots of good press recently. For instance an article in Rocky Mountain News Spotlight last Friday. Also a very flattering story on us in Colorado Music Buzz magazine. Last week's Westword we got a mention because of PeaceJam's Nobel Peace Prize nomination party at the D Note. And this week we get a mention because Katie Herzig, who is playing the D Note next Tuesday with Wendy Woo, got a nice write up. Woo hoo! Some wind in our sails to help get us through the hot days of summer.
Tonight, Friday, August 17, we have the smoking Sammy Dee band, heavy on the blues voodoo. Opening up for Sammy at 8pm is a terrific jazz guitar stylist named Lee Michaels. Come get yer groove on with Sammy Dee.
Tomorrow night at 6pm we have our very good friends The Otone Brass Band back in the house to get your feet happy and light up your smiles. This is a special Allstar reunion show for Otone as they will have most of the players back that have graced their ever changing lineup over the last 7 years. And of course, Aden Harrel, one of the most authentic and exciting performers anywhere. And Aden will play with a funk and jazz band backed by Alejandro Castano beginning around 9pm.
Tuesday, no jazz jam this week, rather we will have the aforementioned show with Katie Herzig and Wendy Woo at 8pm, followed by Wonderlic at 10:30pm. Check out the Westword article. http://www.westword.com/2007-08-16/music/katie-herzig-returns-home/
in the moment,
D faced
Extra Credit: The great Vietnamese Buddhist teacher and poet Thich Nhat Hanh is coming to Denver on September 8 to speak at the Paramount Theater. We highly recommend going to hear him. Even the gentle sound of his voice is transformative. Here is a powerful piece by him for your edification.
Please Call Me by My True Names
I have a poem for you. This poem is about three of us.
The first is a twelve-year-old girl, one of the boat
people crossing the Gulf of Siam. She was raped by a
sea pirate, and after that she threw herself into the
sea. The second person is the sea pirate, who was born
in a remote village in Thailand. And the third person
is me. I was very angry, of course. But I could not take
sides against the sea pirate. If I could have, it would
have been easier, but I couldn't. I realized that if I
had been born in his village and had lived a similar life
- economic, educational, and so on - it is likely that I
would now be that sea pirate. So it is not easy to take
sides. Out of suffering, I wrote this poem. It is called
"Please Call Me by My True Names," because I have many names,
and when you call me by any of them, I have to say, "Yes."
Don't say that I will depart tomorrow --
even today I am still arriving.
Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.
My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
early to mid August, ought 7
D facto,
We try to live up to our name, a name that simply denotes denotation, means that the meaning is up for grabs. The name of the place is just a place holder. This is not always the best business model. People like their identities pat. Otherwise it can get confusing. Definitions bring safety and comfort. But there are a growing number of people in the world who strive to "live as variously as possible". (Frank O'hara) These are who we want to reach, ever expanding, mashing styles, embracing it all.
Speaking of embracing the world, Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle, the couple who run PeaceJam, have been nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize! We are so proud! To celebrate this amazing honor we are having a party for PeaceJam THIS FRIDAY, August 10. The party will feature a band from Detroit called THE GO. Jack White used to be in the band and The White Stripes are covering one of their songs on their recent tour. We don't often score bands of this magnitude. This band was a gift to us from Ivan and Dawn, who are tied into the music scene in Detroit. We can't stop listening to their new album, full of instant pop psychedelic classics. Definitely give them a listen on www.myspace.com/thegodetroit. Also please read the further scoop on PeaceJam's Nobel Prize nod in this week's Westword. The show starts at 8:30pm and cost only $7. We are already swooning.
Then Saturday we have our first annual SummerJam. There is a lot of information to impart here, so I'm going to crib off John Bunting's myspace page. "Hello friends, I am throwing a music showcase called the "2007 Summer Jam at the D-Note" benefiting the Colorado Music Scene. The purpose of this event is to bring exposure to the talented and diverse musicians and bands Colorado has to offer as well as the family friendly music venue the D-Note. located in Olde Town Arvada. Info follows: The D-Note 7519 Grandview Avenue Olde Town Arvada
August 11th 6pm All Ages show and 21+ with ID. Tickets: $10 advanced/$12 door
Free O'Dell beer or Sweet Leaf Tea and compilation CD of bands performing with ticket purchase. Raffle giveaways throughout the evening, band merchandise and event T-shirts
available. Bands: Roktapus, Home, Belly Dancing by Phoenix Dancing, Stoned Emotion, Stanky Pockets and Electric Side Dish." www.myspace.com/jbdrumz, www.myspace.com/roktapus , www.myspace.com/thebandhome, www.myspace.com/phoenix_dancing , www.myspace.com/stonedemotion, www.myspace.com/stankypockets , www.myspace.com/electricsidedish
Whew, that show is going to have some peaks!
Thursday night, Aug. 9th, at 7:30pm, we have an incredible songwriter and performer, Kyle Harmon, with a similar style to Isaac Slade of The Fray and Meese (both friends of his). This kid's got some beautiful songs. After Kyle, at 9pm, will be sets by Martin Gilmore and Adam DeGraff. No cover.
Check www.dnote.us for the rest of the deelio.
With Aplomb,
D fictiono
Extra Credit. On Frank O'hara's gravestone there is a line from his poem "In Memory Of My Feelings" which goes, "Grace to be born and to live as variously as possible". Here is the first part of that same poem.
In Memory Of My Feelings
My quietness has a man in it, he is transparent
and he carries me quietly, like a gondola, through the streets.
He has several likenesses, like stars and years, like numerals.
My quietness has a number of naked selves,
so many pistols I have borrowed to protect myselves
from creatures who too readily recognize my weapons
and have murder in their heart!
though in winter
they are warm as roses, in the desert
taste of chilled anisette.
At times, withdrawn,
I rise into the cool skies
and gaze on at the imponderable world with the simple identification
of my colleagues, the mountains. Manfred climbs to my nape,
speaks, but I do not hear him,
I'm too blue.
An elephant takes up his trumpet,
money flutters from the windows of cries, silk stretching its mirror
across shoulder blades. A gun is "fired."
One of me rushes
to window #13 and one of me raises his whip and one of me
flutters up from the center of the track amidst the pink flamingoes,
and underneath their hooves as they round the last turn my lips
are scarred and brown, brushed by tails, masked in dirt's lust,
definition, open mouths gasping for the cries of the bettors for the lungs
of earth.
So many of my transparencies could not resist the race!
Terror in earth, dried mushrooms, pink feathers, tickets,
a flaking moon drifting across the muddied teeth,
the imperceptible moan of covered breathing,
love of the serpent!
I am underneath its leaves as the hunter crackles and pants
and bursts, as the barrage balloon drifts behind a cloud
and animal death whips out its flashlight,
whistling
and slipping the glove off the trigger hand. The serpent's eyes
redden at sight of those thorny fingernails, he is so smooth!
My transparent selves
flail about like vipers in a pail, writhing and hissing
without panic, with a certain justice of response
and presently the aquiline serpent comes to resemble the Medusa.
early August, ought 7
D fenders,
Are you ready for a bender?
This is what our weekend will look like. Tonight, Thursday, August 2, at 7:30pm, we have Kevin DeForrest coming in to sing his perfect blue collar bluegrass songs. Then at 9pm the band Flour will do their full on progressive freeform funk. Both shows are free.
Friday for winetasting we'll have Daniel Kotsak in playing Native American flute and guitar. Then at 8pm we'll have the fiery James Hurtado back doing his unique and beautiful flamenco rap. And at 10pm we'll have The Jared Johnson Trio back with their hard driving jazz.
Saturday we have a couple of special events. First at 1pm we have a book signing party for our friend Pat Lohr. Many of you have probably seen his art at the D Note. You know the one with the girl in the plaza jumping for the birds? Everybody seems to love that one. Anyway, Pat has a new children's book out called "Mucumber McGee and The Half-eaten Hotdog". We've gotten a sneak peek at the book and it is beautiful. The book will be getting a solid national PR push and will be in all of the major bookstores. We're proud of Pat, another local hero. Come get your copy signed. Music will be provided by the phenomenal guitarist Robert Eldridge.
At 6pm we have music by Kate LeRoux, a talent we discovered on open stage night. No cover.
Then at 8pm we have Michael St. James (from Soul Thieves), Melissa Hoffman, FearMia and Joe For Nothin. FearMia is amazing band from L.A. Check out www.myspace.com/fearmia. One of its members, Abby Posner, came from Arvada and so it will be homecoming for her. She used to play solo at The D Note a few years back and is another local hero who made it. This show is $6 which will go to help pay for the chemo treatment's of one of Abby's highschool teachers, Lisa Woods, from Jefferson County Open.
Yours, with rainbow sprinkled cupcakes,
D liciousExtra Credit: Our friend Albert DeSilver just sent us a copy of his new book "Walking Tooth and Cloud", a collection of prose poems. We'll include one of our favorites here. Check out www.frenchcx.com/press/walkingtooth.html for more.
KAFKA'S TWO HANDED WAR
Approval is met by me nodding. Me nodding being a dishonest referee. I am watching my two hands at arm's length, at war. They begin at defeat and proceed to risk the tilt from annihilation's crown. The left one backs up against the right, stroking it, almost sexually, one on top of the other as one. Instead of looking into my face they look away leaping into their own sense of victory, alone. Each one intimate with reckless wildness, yet acting like a two headed Madonna. Wrist of the left, broken across the table fumes with the idea of misery and fighting between the two, a brew of flesh snarls curdle. Me Mr. Between, stripped of the broad capacity of mind to realize these are my hands, my saving idea, with the slightest jerk, could pull away. Engine piston downward pounding the right pushing the left to the rim of the table, the left hand being left at its natural end. How hold your chin up, left, in the fierce grip of right's iron five? Your standing girlish fingers curl in shyness. Run long left wrist! There is no resisting the right one's power pressure. The ongoing struggle of two preparing for a bad way. Torture. There the thigh fumbling timidly, left sat, while the right, never grumbling, grasped hats and saluted the clouds. The left was never an arm of abuse, has never spoken words of indulgence, and yet the right has been made my favor, without my wishing the left any harm at all, why? And so I sit, escaping nothing now, chin pressed to the edge of the burnished oak table, nothing unnoticed passing before me— the brought holds of various knots, the shadow strings between palms, bunching up darkness in my eyes. My frozen gaze is never to be peeled from my hands, because they are mine! Agony must referee this match of stalled touch, one baring more pressure on the other from left to right and back across the table top, fingers all tangled in a locked instant. This after facing one another, palm to palm and bowing, saluting me together now their referee. Referee reading a terrific book they had slammed shut, when my two hands began to fight.
Late July, ought 7
D tails,
As our bartender Lisa always says, happy day!
As usual we have plenty in store for you this weekend. Tonight, Thursday January 26, at 7pm, our old friend David Thomas Bailey is back with his new trio, featuring another favorite on saxaphone, Serafin Sanchez. In the early days of the D Note David helped us out with a jazz jam on Sunday mornings. It will be good to have him back. After the jazz, at 9pm we have 4 bands brought in by our friend Dthia; Valet Park This, Overweight and Ugly, Stasimon II and The Stripe Stripe Fiasco. Ah, new bands, we can never get enough.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have D Note favorite Ragtime Bill on our old upright grand. Then at 8pm we have an Up With People showcase, featuring talented kids from all over the world. Our friend Danielle has gone off to work for Up With People for a year and this is her parting gift to us. At 9:30pm we have the Great Lionel Young back in the house to regale you with his overwhelming talent and stage presence.
Saturday we have a beer tasting presented by Odell's at 4pm, 4 beers and a free pint glass for $12. Then at 6pm we have the old timey new sounds of The Alltunators. Check them out at www.alltunators.com. And for the main event of the evening, at 9pm, the Colorado Friends of Zydeco and Cajun present Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble. These guys are widely regarded as one of the best Zydeco bands around. www.curleytaylor.com
That's the weekend.
With all our sole,
D feet
Extra Credit: We've been reading an excellent book by Michael Pollan called "The Omnivore's Dilemma". Beautifully written and filled with stunning revelations about the food we eat. It really is an essential and exciting read and this is why we are recommending it to you. And now a classic poem, by the great Rudyard Kipling. Perhaps a little didactic, a little dated, maybe even a little cheesy, but still well worth contemplation. Also, if you are a woman, just change the last line to fit you.
If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
Mid to late July, ought 7
D signers,
Imagine you could design the perfect band. What would they sound like? Ours would be a string quartet, and we'd play standards in a new way and new songs in a traditional vein. We would have a lot of fun and we would play music so beautiful that it shook the soul. We would name it something like BlueAvenue. Wait, that's been done already. That saves us a lot of work! Check them out at www.blueavenue.org. And come have dinner while listening to them tonight, Thursday, July 19, at the D Note at 7pm. And then shtick around for Greenfoot at 9pm, another perfect band of a different design, in the pop rocks direction.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have the Great Joe Jeffers. Definitely a good idea of a perfect jazz singer. Guy's good.
After the winetasting we have a SHOW. First up is Rob Drabkin, a kid with a big fro, killer groove, an angelic voice and bunches of charisma. www.robdrabkin.com
After Rob we have the main event of the evening, a party for the release of "Raising The Root" by Dean Station. Here's a tidbit from their press release.
"The rootsy Americana band's second release is compiled of all original acoustic music and makes use of instruments such as: the spoons, mandolin, guitar, fiddle, keys and percussion.
Levi Dean (vocals, mandolin, guitar, bass, fiddle), Amanda Dean (vocals, guitar, keys, spoons) and Charlie O'Neal (percussion) make up the band. Introspective and poetic, with roots in folk, rock, and blues, the band's songs leverage engaging two-part harmonies that contrast their distinctly different vocal styles. O'Neal provides the perfect percussive background for Levi and Amanda's melodies."
Also check out www.deanstation.com.
Last but not least of the bill Friday night will be the OTC VarmitZ. The VarmitZ play music as old as the hills, with wonderful timeless songs by Sylvia Murray. Everyone in the Varmitz is a friend of ours, and Jax Delaguerre has practically been like Santa Claus to us. We are all going to be transported into the mountains of yesteryear Friday night. www.otcvarmitz.com
Saturday, at 7:30pm, we have a woman who has come a long way since she played the D Note last, Coles Whalen. Coles is a bundle of charisma and talent and we thank the Candleman for bringing her back. www.coleswhalen.com
After Coles is the debut of the band Reckless Red. Hot blues band fronted by a saucy red haired chanteuse. We would design that band! www.myspace.com/recklessredband
Monday night there is a new host on board for the open stage, Jay Ryan. He'll be sharing duties every other week with Adam D: Jay comes from the Tony Medina school of open stage hosting. Tony, an insanely popular man, hosted our open stage for the first few years. Jay takes on much of what is great about Tony. And he adds a little flair, opening things up with little things like song writing games to keep players coming back. We're glad to have him on board.
Our Tuesday jazz jam seems to have already taken off!
We are glad. Because this business is a difficult one and we can use all the help we can get. Every single one of you is an integral part of our very existence. And we thank you!
Crazy like the armpits of a snake,
D signed
Extra Credit: This week, in the spirit of DIY (design it yourself) we will leave the space open for you to write a poem. How about an ode to the D note, a quatrain? That shouldn't take too much, ahem, strain. Send in what you write why don't you?
early July, ought 7
har D and the har hars,
Listening to live Donavan on vinyl right now in the background and this very beautiful song comes on with the refrain, "retard writer in the sun". Did he just say "retard writer in the sun"? Hmmm. This letter to you now is being written by a writer who labels himself retarded, has since he when he was a child, because everybody called him that, because he was always floating somewhere in outer space, never on the ball, always a little slower than everybody else. Things haven't changed much, except people are nicer than they were back then. It's okay, wonderful even, there is nothing better than to be a retard writer in the sun. But then the line comes by again. It was misheard by your writer on account of the English lilt of Donovan's accent. The line should have been "retired writer in the sun".
Tonight, July 12, we have The Gauthier Sisters at 8pm. The Gauthier sisters came in and sang some songs for us during open stage. It was so beautiful that it made D note patron Geoffrey Bruce cry. As for us, we had just that day heard the sublime Bright Eyes song "First Day of My Life" for the first time and so to hear these ladies sing it even sublimer later that evening seemed like a kind of a miracle. One sister pronounces her last name "goateeay" and the other "gothier". We like both so much we don't know which to use. No cover, just come listen.
Tomorrow night we have stuff going on. First off the phenomenon casually referred to as Robert Eldridge will wow and soothe us with his many sided guitar. Meanwhile Olde Town Arvada will be having an art walk. Several local businesses will be displaying art, with percentages of sales going to Lost and Found, one of our very favorite local good causes.
Then, around 8:30pm we welcome a band we are very excited about, an eight piece African/Latin/Ska/Funk band called Tito Del Barrio Malaga. We want to see the place packed with your dancing souls. We doubt very seriously whether you could have this much fun anywhere else in the world tomorrow night. Unless you have a bad case of gout.
Saturday our friends from 23 Skidoo are throwing a big swing blues dance party. Dan and Tiffany are amazing teachers and even more amazing dancers. This is a dress up affair. Lessons start around 6:30pm. Check out the gorgeous flyer and the line up for the evening here http://www.denverswingdance.com/hold/dnote.jpg
Of course there is so much more happening over the next several days and if you've got some free time check out www.dnote.us and look.
Yours,
D fault
Extra Credit: How about the lyrics to that Bright Eyes song the Gauthier sisters will be singing tonight. Bright Eyes is Conor Oberst and he has a way with words, and something to say too.
First Day Of My Life
This is the first day of my life
Swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach
Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don't know where I am, don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go
And so I thought I'd let you know
That these things take forever, I especially am slow
But I realized that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home
Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed
You felt as if you'd just woke up
And you said, "This is the first day of my life.
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you.
But, now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy."
So if you wanna be with me
With these things there's no telling
We'll just have to wait and see
But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery
Besides, maybe this time it's different
I mean I really think you like me
early July, ought 7
D luscious,
The heat is on. And we embrace it with the same open arms as the cold. Although it is a different kind of embrace. The cold makes us get hot, get all active and sparky, whereas the hot makes us get cool, lazily floating down a stream,
and right into the D note. This weekend a few great shows for you. Thursday we have a songwriter from Brooklyn NY named Kris Gruen. This guy is like a cross between Ryan Adams and Iron And Wine. Come show Brooklyn some Arvada spirit. www.myspace.com/krisgruen and/or www.krisgruen.com
Friday night we have Pete Wernick and Flexigrass in for a CD release party. If you haven't heard Flexigrass, it is a musical mix of bluegrass and dixieland, with great players, like Greg Harris of Future Jazz Project, playing the parts. The new CD will be reviewed in this week's Westword, so check it out. www.flexigrass.com
Saturday night we have Carey Ott in at 7pm. Carey, from Nashville, was brought to us by the same folks at Crescendo who brought us Henry Butler and Papa Mali, so the quality is guaranteed. www.careyott.com and/or www.myspace.com/careyott
After Carey, at 9pm, we have the return of the ebullient Dikki Du and The Zydeco Crew. This Crew puts out some of the most infectiously dancelicious Zydeco music you can imagine. We defy you not to dance!
Monday night Adam D will be out of town and so the open stage will be hosted by Jay Ryan. Jay was hosting a rival open stage on Mondays at Kokapelli's before they have shut down. His style is both fun and professional. He learned from the best, Tony Medina. Should be a great night.
We have a jazz and blues jam now on Tuesdays. If you are a player or lover of jazz and blues come check it out. Spencer Stevens hosts the first leg from 6-8pm. Then Alejandro Costano goes a little more free form as the host of the second leg from 8-10ish.
There will be an amazing show next Friday too with Tito Del Barrio Malaga, 8 guys playing a heady hybrid of Latin, African, Reggae and Funk.
Of course there is lots more. Check out www.dnote.us for the particulars.
Fans in hands,
D lushes
Extra Credit: Here is an appropriate poem by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961)
Heat
O wind, rend open the heat,
Cut apart the heat,
Rend it to tatters.
Fruit cannot drop
Through this thick air --
Fruit cannot fall into heat
That presses up and blunts
The points of pears
And rounds the grapes.
Cut the heat --
Plough through it,
Turning it on either side
Of your path.
Late June, ought 7
D lux,
What, no opening gambit? Hold on just a minute, we seem to have picked up some static. Does not compute. Houston, we have a problem.
But that problem shall be solved tonight, Thursday, June 28, at 7pm, as we hold a gala opening for The D Note Staff art show. We have an abundance of creative talent at the D Note. Why? Because like attracts like, that's why. Nine of said like are presented here in an impressive array of diverse styles, including a few folks you may know, Lisa, Adams Ferrill and DeGraff, Jeremy, Genevieve, Diandra, Chef Amy, Sierra and Stephanie. And Citrus from U.S. Pipe and The Balls Johnson Dance Machine will be playing sitar for the occasion. Come support your local artists!
After the opening, at 9pm, we have some local punk bands, 3AM, Fulcrum and Aim2miss. See www.myspace.com/3AMrocks to get a flavor. (Their friends are hot!)
Tomorrow night we have another show which is sure to be special, because it features excellent and talented friends of ours all night. It starts with Moses and Aden Harrell for the winetasting at 5pm. Then at 8pm we have Tom Zingaro and John Huran (both of The Reals) opening for yet another friend, JT Nolan and his band The Lovely And Talented. Check out http://www.westword.com/2007-06-07/music/the-lovely-talented/ to read a recent review.
Can't ask for a much better night than that!
Or can you? We'll meet some new friends on Saturday night. First, at 7pm we have Esther Sparks from New Orleans. This woman's songs are personal, unique, and hauntingly beautiful. Check out Dirty Little Fingers at www.esthersparks.com. Her last album was produced by Mike West of Truckstop Honeymoon, which some of you will fondly remember. After Esther will be the CD release party for Mike Wolf and The High Country Band. This rootsy show was brought to us by The Candleman, which is always a good sign. Rounding out the night will be country legend in the making Burgandy Brown. This show is going to be rootin tootin.
There are a few new folks on our e-mail list culled from Baby Boogie. Thanks for joining us. We hope to see your little darlings out on the dance floor every Sunday afternoon!
Okay, bye,
D Louse
Extra Credit: Naropa has such terrific poets come out every summer for their summer writing program. This week features five of our all time favorites, Jennifer Moxley, Clark Coolidge, Rod Smith, Anselm Hollo and Bernadette Mayer. If you want extra extra credit, look them all up. But for now, we'll just give you a taste of one of them. Anselm Hollo's wife Jane Dalrymple Hollo's puzzle piece paintings have been up in the D note hallway for over 3 years. Some of you may have noticed them. Here's a lovely poem Anselm wrote for her.
For Janey, with French idioms
wind gusts changes sky from blue to white
above carpet of crabapples under the tree
flickers flicker through air
tremendous lightning strike two nights ago
gave me the flesh of the hen for half a second
then water poured from the sky
— no I'm not turning into a "nature poet"
but the little green house you built for me
does make me notice a few more things in the universe
to add to my "Notes on the Possibilities and Attractions of Existence"
and I never imagined I could be so unjealous
of my loved one's art
even when it takes her away from me
for many evenings and mornings and nights inbetween
but o I make myself a joy of it
to see her again
D finers,
We are on the fly in San Francisco, so no lengthy love letter for you!
Instead, a quick note to let you know that an ass kicking band will be playing Saturday night called Buckskin Stallion. Not very nice to kick a donkey, but what's a stallion to do? The donkey needs to move! www.buckskinstallionmusic.org. High energy roots music. Buckskin Stallion will be joined by Ash Ganley and John Crogan at 8pm.
Just before this show will be an amateur belly dancing starting at 6pm. No cover.
And just before that show will be our first beer tasting. Saturday at 4:00 take the opportunity to try 4 different Stone Brewery beers for $15 and chat with Marty the Stone Brewery beer guy. The belly dancing afterward should be interesting with beer goggles on!
And before the beer tasting? Yoga for kids.Saturday mornings at 9:00 ages 4 and up. $12 drop-in and $99 for a 10-class pack. Moms can join at no cost. Additional siblings half-price.
How's that for a diverse and full Saturday. Check out the calendar for the rest of the scoop. www.dnote.us
Okay, time to go ride a cable car through the streets of San Francisco.
Love,
D Finest
Extra Credit: Here's a poem by the current Poet Laureate of San Francisco, Jack Hirschman.
ONE DAY
I'm gonna give up writing and just paint
I'm gonna give up painting and just sing
I'm gonna give up singing and just sit
I'm gonna give up sitting and just breathe
I'm gonna give up breathing and just die
I'm gonna give up dying and just love
I'm gonna give up loving and just write
D raff,
Happy Giraffe Day! Today is the day where millions of giraffes worldwide celebrate their heritage. Did you know that giraffes are faster than horses? And that they have the biggest heart of any animal on land? Long live the giraffe!
We are celebrating giraffes, and all living creatures, tonight with a benefit for Rocky Mountain Animal Defense. Yes, people, we are, among a zillion other things, hippies. And we will help you bring your inner hippie out of the closet too. Actually, the final band playing tonight is the decidedly non hippie band, New Rome. New Rome is pretty much a progressive heavy metal band. You rarely hear metal at the D Note, why not at a benefit for the animals? If metal is not your thing, they have jazz and folk from 7 to 9:30pm tonight. There will be some very good people at this show so come join the community. Raise the roof and open the cages.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have Matt Skellenger, the most interesting electric bassist around.
Then, for the MAIN EVENT we have the EPIC MEETING of THE LEGENDARY HENRY BUTLER and THE PHENOMENAL LIONEL YOUNG. Henry Butler has played the D Note a few times before. We are very honored that he likes us and keeps coming back. He always packs the house and lays everybody out in awe. Last time he played with U.S. Pipe and The Balls Johnson Dance Machine, in a performance that was pure music, Henry getting deep into his effects box for the uber funk of U.S. Pipe. This time Henry will play solo from 8:30-10pm and then join the Lionel Young Band at 10:30pm. Anyone who has seen or heard Lionel knows how great he is, and it will be a thrill to see how these two musicians inspire each other.
Saturday, we take it easy, with The Antacid Test #2. The band that played in the first one, The Skivies, said in this week's Westword that we were their favorite venue to play in. Thanks Skivies! In this episode of The Antacid Tests we will have Stoned Emotion, The New Ancient Astronauts, The Inactivists and Ten Feet Tall. Stoned Emotion is more classic rock, percussive, psychedelic folk, traditionalists you might say. New Ancient Astronauts will take it into a more urban, space out, effects territory and The Inactivists are an angry lounge band, weird enough to fit anywhere. They are the best sing along band in Denver in our opinion. Then at midnight Ten Ft. Tall will do a multi media presentation, a timed set to a film they made called the Drive. Matt Kirk will be painting live all night and tripster visuals will be provided by AWD. Get yer psychedelic tube socks on and come join us.
Next Tuesday we feature the up and comer, Jason Stocker at 7pm. And Thursday the return of FACE.
Under and In,
D riff,
Extra Credit: Also in this week's Westword, songwriter Joshua Novak said, "Never get so attached to a poem that you forget truth that lacks lyricism." Hey Joshua, ask any giraffe, Truth is beauty and beauty is truth. To honor the giraffe we will include the poetic opening of the novel by J.M. Ledgard, simply titled "Giraffe", which tells the true story of a communist murder of a herd of 32 giraffes in Czechoslovakia in the seventies. In this passage, one of the giraffe's, Snehurka, is describing his birth.
"I kick now in the darkness and see a coming light, molten, veined through the membrane and fluids of the sac, which contains me. I am squeezed toward the light. Let it be said: I enter this world without volition.
My hooves come first, then my nose, then the whole of my head. I hang halfway out. I swing. I fall. I am found, I am found at this moment, and my coming into being is a head-over-hooves tumble from weightlessness to weight and from at the drowning, which has no memory, to what has breath and is yet to be.
It is white-hot out here, thin; it sears. The falling takes the longest time. The first thing I see is my own form, my hooves impossibly far away, slicked with fluid, and my mazed hide, bloodied, flickering in the haze, burning, as though I am not passing form my mother to the ground, but from the constellation Camelopardalis into the Earth's atmosphere.
The ground comes to me from upside down, a flopping view, flopping with my neck. I see a blue-and-cream swallow flying close and away up onto an ash-colored grassland, where forms of other animals and trees are pegged to the soil, not falling into the azure sky below. I hit the ground headfirst, with a thud. Dust rises about me and settles. I lie quite still, among gathering ants, taking the measure of the air and of gravity. I blink back the light of the sun. I feel my lungs swelling. My heart beats on its own account, for me alone. Such a volume of blood passes through my chambers, rises, and rises again, and sinks, circulating within me, creating a buoyancy that will keep me upright for all my l living days.
My mother nudges me with a hoof and now with her nose. She licks membrane form my hide in a thoroughgoing manner. I do not stir. I remain motionless in the dust until the shadow of a cloud settles above me and and comforts me; I am without understanding and remember nothing of constellations but only that it was darker and thicker where I came from. I slowly lift my neck. I kick out my lets. I try to stand. Several times I climb up and several times I fall back down, so there is a question about my form: How can I be upraised on such slender legs? Now I make it. I quiver here, beside my mother. Instincts and customs of the herd enter me, unbidden. I see the order of my captivity, my searching up, gravity pulling me down, and the resultant journeys across. The sounds of this world, which came at first to me a single and unbroken, break now into songs of the earth, of termites, vultures, armored beasts wallowing, and of my own breath."
Goldstrike! ought 7
inDnation,
There's gold in them there hills. Which hills? Um, that little hill in Arvada behind the AMC Movie Theaters and the Home Depot and the Cosco and all that generic stuff. You know the one we're talking about? This weekend, perched upon that grand view will be the Goldstrike festival. And we miners will be shaking our pans to extract every last little bit of gold from the weekend.
All day Saturday we have bands, starting with Matt Madison playing floating piano at noon, Wonderlic doing their mandolin led jazzy groove thing at 1pm, Chris Santen and friends at 3pm, Jared Johnson Trio featuring very special guest Aden Harrell at 4pm and the acoustic latin hip pop of the fiery James Hurtado at 6pm.
THEN at 7:30pm we begin the celebration of our sister Danielle Hastings eminent departure, a going off the grid party, with a few of her friends, including the young kids who rock like old kids, Joe 4 Nothin, as well as the pretty much the prettiest musicians we know, the fellows from Elephant Revival Project, and the best dressed musicians we know, The Clamdaddys, and the wildest singer we know, Tempa and The Tantrums.
Sunday will start out with whatever rootsy acoustic music Jax Delaguerre puts together, then at 2:30pm Danielle's party from the night before will be rolling in, hungover, ready for more music, and so therefore we will feature some more friends of Danielle, a duo called Rosalie.
THEN, for Salsa, because we will still have some gold left to spend, we will have a very special guest in L.A. (Lower Arvada), the very popular salsa band leader from L.A. (Los Angeles), Johnny Polanco y Su Cojunto Amistad. As you can imagine, it is pricey to bring out a dozen players from Cali, but it will be well worth $20 each and the dance floor is going to be on fire.
I should mention that tonight we have a couple of new bands, Burning Abigail at 8pm and Greenfoot at 10pm. These bands are laid back rock and roll and if you aren't doing anything else, come out and support their debuts. And tomorrow night the popular Tritone Jazz band for winetasting, followed by the dancelicious grooves of Clusterfunk.
We have so much more to tell you, but we are running out of space. That's an internet joke.
In D Name of D Grail,
in D,
Anna Jones
Extra Credit: We've been doing lyrics as poetry as our theme lately, an easy target, but illuminating nonetheless. Here's one by the master, a song that RollingStone Magazine said was the best rock song ever written, Like A Rolling Stone. (Self serving, sure, but hardly unjustified). Hard not to read these lyrics in retrospect as a kind of metaphor, Dylan addressing the state of the nation. And then a second Dylan classic, with the same theme, which skews even closer to poetry...
Like A Rolling Stone
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, beware doll, you're bound to fall
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You've gone to the finest school all right, miss lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last.
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast.
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun,
Crying like a fire in the sun.
Look out the saints are comin' through
And it's all over now, baby blue.
The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense.
Take what you have gathered from coincidence.
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it's all over now, baby blue.
All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home.
All your reindeer armies, are all going home.
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor.
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And its all over now, baby blue.
Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you.
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew
And its all over now, baby blue.
May 31-June 6
D regulaters,
Life is long and it's tremendous and we're happy that you're here with us. That's a line from Bonnie Prince Billy. More from him later.
Tonight, Thursday, May 31, we've got a band called Frogs Gone Fishin and another called Mach 1. Jammy groovy rock and roll. Check out Frogs Gone Fishin's myspace. They've got some tasty tunes. Mach 1 will be a blind date, but we trust Frogs Gone Fishin who recommended them to fill out the night.
Tomorrow night for winetasting we have the truly great Aden Harrell with his jazz trio The Tritones. Aden is enshrined at the D Note.
At 8pm we have our 5th annual Spring Fever Bluegrass Festival. The festival is small this year. We promise to make it up to you next year with a gala event. But the price is fair and we've got some good bands lined up. First up is the Piatt Family Band. The Piatt family hails from Tennessee and we're lucky to get them. After the Piatt Family Band we have a new band to the area called The Bluegrass Refugees. Genevieve heard these guys at an event she went to and told us we had to book them. So we did. The third band of this short, but festive festival will be DGrass, a few local yokels who will take us into Saturday.
Saturday, At 7pm ,we have the return of Ben Long, an excellent songwriter.
At 8:30pm we have Possessed By Paul James. PBPJ is a guy from Austin Texas who gets voo doo on the banjo. We are really looking forward to this cat. You can check out his myspace to find out why, but here's a nice description from the Onion, "One-man band Konrad Wert grew up in a Mennonite family, raised by preacher father and a piano player mother, which accounts for both the baptized-in-fire-soul and musical versatility heard in his gritty Old World music. Wert's mix of blues and vintage folk howls with a sense of explosive freedom and latent rage-not unlike an Amish kid emerging from the wilderness to discover America -that instills his simple guitar/fiddle/stomp-box arrangements with unusual passion."
at 9:30pm we have a band that is quickly rising in our ranks, called Stonebraker. These brothers put on a rootsy rocking, high energy show.
Rounding out Saturday evening at 11ish will be Delphic Tone. Love that band name. These kids just do good bluesy rock and roll. Heard them on open stage night and brung them in.
Tuesday, June 5th, at 7pm, we've got the Jefferson County Community Band, who will be doing a swing set. This band has long history in Arvada. In Bliss, down the street, there is a photograph of the Jeffco Community Band from the 20's! If you look on the bottom row of that picture you will see Aden Harrell's great grandfather.
Two dates in June to set aside: June 10 we have Johnny Polanco, a very popular salsa band from L.A. in and June 15 we have Henry Butler back. And this time, after he plays solo, he will "meet" Lionel Young and history will be made.
Watch the gas prices!
D regulated
Extra Credit: Okay, last week we offered up some Beck lyrics for you as poems. Some of you loved them and some not so much and so it goes. This week we'll continue the trend of lyrics as poetry and send you something from Bonnie Prince Billy. Bonnie Prince Billy, aka Will Oldham, is our personal favorite contemporary songwriter. We listen to his lyrics the way kids listened to the lyrics of Dylan in the 60s and Neil Young in the 70s, for sustenance and style.
Hard to pick one, they are all good. Go to www.palace.free.fr to read more. Here's one that we like to sing, sums up a certain something that some of us feel...
Sing a song of Madeleine-Mary
A tune that all can carry
Burly says if we don't sing
Then we won't have anything
All the boys on ship set sail
And the mate was Madeleine-Mary
When her eyes did fill with tears
It was extraordinary
It was extraordinary
For we none of us could see it
For she kept herself kept below
And all her feelings private
Sing a song of Madeleine-Mary
A tune that all can carry
Burly says if we don't sing
Then we won't have anything
None of us could get a glimpse
But all of us did want it
At night above our sleeping heads
Our sleeping dreams were haunted
So now my kids you'd like to hear
Of one who reached and got her
Well if there was well I think
He sleeps beneath the water
Sing a song of Madeleine-Mary
A tune that all can carry
Burly says if we don't sing
Then we won't have anything
may24-31
D nation,
What's got all up in you? If you are a D nation, does that mean you are D nating? What would it mean to D nate? Would it mean no more borders? No more boundaries? No more wars? Cool. Let's D nate, one and all.
Speaking of, we have recently received the gift of a manjo. A manjo is not a manservent, but we'll take one of those too, if anyone has an extra. No, a manjo is a cross between a mandolin and a banjo. We are smitten with the manjo and have dubbed her "Magic Flute." This is because she was given to us by Mozart himself during a performance of The Magic Flute at the Lincoln Center in NY City. In return we gave Mozart a manbro. A manbro is not a mandolin crossed with a dobro. No, a manbro is like a bra for men. Mozart was needing a little boost for his bust.
Okay, so maybe we need some boundaries after all? Tonight, Thursday, May 24, we're going to be all about binding things. A fellow named Pete Martinez wandered in the D note a few months ago. Never met him before but he had a 10 dollar smile and a genius handshake. Turns out Pete was a big time Nashville recording star. Also turns out he has just moved to Arvada. This guy has an impressive resume. He also recently packed out Lannie's Cabaret. Check out www.petemartinezusa.com. Pete happened to be in the night that Oakhurst and Dan Walker played the D Note. He was so impressed with Dan that he asked him if he would open for him. Will be great to have Dan back in the D note too. Also, this show is probably the best deal you'll ever get on seeing Pete. His shows are usually at least twice the price.
Tomorrow night we have the very popular Ragtime Bill in to play the winetasting on our old upright grand. The kids just go crazy for old Bill's wild and woolly rags. After Ragtime Bill, at 8pm, we've got the terribly missed Lionel Young back in the saddle. Yeehaw! By the way, we just confirmed a show for June 15 with Henry Butler and Lionel Young together. Save that date for some off the planet musical magic.
Saturday night we have Aaron Espe at 6pm. Aaron is one of those gorgeous songwriters. Just check out his D Note poster on www.myspace.com/aaronespe.
And at 8pm on Saturday night we have the D Note debut of (drum roll please)......Velvet Elvis! This is Elvis during his roots and country Sun Records years and it is electric. Flomberg from The Rocky Mountain News says "And on Jan. 8 I saw the Velvet Elvis, Chris Barber, who is, hands down, the best Elvis I've seen..." Chris plays with stand up bassist Michael Baird. Viva Elvis! After Velvet Elvis we have a very special surprise guest. Ooh, the suspense. Super good deal for the night at $5, too.
Monday night for an open stage spotlight we have a very rare D Note "metal" show at 9:30pm with a new Arvada band called Basil and The Herbs. Check out the yucks on their myspace page at www.basilandtheherbs.com.
Note: we lost all of our MSN and Hotmail readers because those companies mistook us for spam and blocked us. So if you are an MSN or Hotmail reader, you are not reading this, because you have been blocked. We are sorry to you in absentia.
Modestly,
D nude
Extra Credit: Though lyrics and poems are different, they can sometimes merge. Bob Dylan reminded the poetry world of this. When original poetry is combined with original melody you get a great song. One of our favorite contemporary poets is Beck. Here's two terrific poems by Beck. We've listen to the first one a hundred times and are still teasing out the sordid narrative it hints at. The second poem/song/story, in contrast, just goes all out.
Crystal Clear (Beer)
Plastic donut, can of spam
There's no kindness in this land
Better not let my good girl catch you here
She's getting all juiced up with a bottle of plain wrap beer
Coffee clothing pasted on
Clean my gravestone when I'm gone
And you better not let my good girl catch you here
She's got a whole pile of things you don't want to hear.
Hitch my horse up to the town
Got my toenails painted brown
And you better not let my good girl catch you here
She'll cut you down and put the blame on me.
Just a muscle in a bag
Throw my baby, don't let her sag.
You better not let my good girl catch you here.
Satan Gave Me A Taco
Satan gave me a taco
And it made me really sick
The chicken was all raw
And the grease was mighty thick
The rice was all rancid
And the beans were so hard
I was getting kinda dizzy
Eatin all the lard
There was aphids on the lettuce
And I ate every one
And after I was done
The salsa melted off my tongue
Pieces of tortilla
Got stuck in my throat
And the stains on my clothes
Burned a hole through my coat
My stomach was atremblin
And I broke out in a rash
I was so dry and thirsty
And I didn't have no cash
So I went and found a hose
Tore off all my clothes
Turned on the water
And it shot right up my nose
Some old lady came along
And she thought I was a freak
So she beat me with her handbag
til I could hardly speak
I was lying there naked
My body badly bruised
In a pool of my own blood
Unconscious and confused
Well the cops came and got me
And threw me in their van
And I woke up on the ceiling
And I couldn't find my hand
They took me to the judge
His eyes aglowin red
The courtroom was filled
With witches and the dead
Well the sheriff was a hell-hound
With fangs and claws
The prisoners were tied up
And chained to the walls
The air was getting thick
The smoke was getting thicker
The judge read the verdict
Said cut off his head!
Well they placed me on the altar
And they raised up the axe
My head was about to explode
When I noticed the marshall stacks
I noticed all the smoke machines
Cameras and the lights
Some guy with a microphone
Runnin around dancin in tights
And I noticed the crew
And the band playin down below
And I realized I was in a rock video
So I went and joined the band
And I went out on tour
And I smoked a lot of heroin
And I passed out in manure
I made out with the groupies (aw yeah)
Started fires backstage (aw yeah, start em up)
Made a lot of money (aw yeah, I'm makin it)
And I gave it all away (give it all to me)
Well the band got killed (aw, bunch of losers)
So I started a solo career (aw haw, yeah)
And I won all the awards (get em all now)
And I drank all the beer (drink it all up; get funky)
And I opened up the taco stand (aw haw, etc.)
Just to smell the smell
Cookin with the devil
Fryin down in hell
(git busy)
May 10-17
D side,
Is it that time again already? Has a week gone by already? Time is picking up speed, keeps going faster. It might as well be this time next week right now for how fast it is going. Yeesh. Can't anybody slow this ride down a little? It goes by just like that, and yet so much happens every week.
Tonight, for instance, our friend Rogelio Rodriguez, from Quetzalli Productions is putting on an art show with 4 hispanic artists and 4 hispanic rock bands. Rogelio used to own a renowned hispanic-centered art gallery on Sante Fe Drive and is very connected and very cool. We are quite honored that he is putting this show on at the D Note and are very much looking forward to it. Art show starts at 6:30pm and bands and 3$ cover starts at 9. Come and support your local culture.
Speaking of culture, another show happening this weekend is Ricardo Lemvo, a Cuban salsa legend, on Sunday night. This is the third year Lemvo has come back to the D note to perform and we love him. He is releasing his new CD this Sunday at the D note, Isabela, and we are excited to dance to the new songs as they are played by Ricardo's terrific band, Makina Loca. Viva La Revolucion!
Sunday night is also Matthew D's birthday. Come dance with him. He'll do his best not to step on your toes.
Friday we have jazzer Matthew Shilling in for winetasting. Then Zack Nichols band will play at 8. Zack is up for a Westword award for best songwriter. After Zack our friend Ken Karnisky will play around 9:30 and then we'll have some kind of crazy jam.
Saturday we have 3 great jazz oriented acts, Jazz Del Barrio (more hispanic flavor!), Joshua Trinidad and, rounding out the evening, The Byron Shaw Projex. Byron Shaw is part of Judge Roughneck and is a local legend. His sound is "kinda like Portishead meets Rick James at a Tito Puente concert with Bob Marley's sons throwing the after party!" That's a killer line up and all for only $5. Wow.
See ya in a blink of the eye,
The Great D Vide
Extra Credit: The guy who does those victorian etching comics in the Onion is named David Malki! (The exclamation point is part of his name.) We were recently reading an interview with Malki! in Illiterate Magazine, a new art and literature rag out of Boulder, and were struck by the beauty of his answers to the question put to him. So we appropriate one of the answers and turn it into a kind of found prose-poem here.
What would you do if you could meet your creator?
I'd probably mumble something like, "Sorry about
all the, you know, all that stuff that I, uh, that I did,"
and he would sort of laugh and clap me on the back
and say, "Dude that was hilarious, don't apologize!"
And I would crack this big grin and go off feeling
pretty great, with, like, a big load lifted off my shoulders.
And then right as I got on the escalator I would look
back and see that he'd dropped the smile as soon
as I'd gotten off of his lap, and that he was just sort
of watching me with this dark look of quiet disappointment.
He'd see me looking and real quick he'd try to smile
again, but it would be too late, he wouldn't be able to
quite make it convincing before the escalator cut him
away from my view, even though right at the end he
sort of straightened up tall to try and make the eye
contact linger. For the rest of the day I'd feel really
guilty, like I had let him down, and I'd have sort of a
disturbing dream that night in which he was being
buried in sand and I couldn't dig him out fast enough.
Then I'd have a dream about something weird that I
wouldn't be able to quite remember, and in the morning
I'd wake up with a deep, unexplained melancholy
through which I'd wander until some bogus client
emergency at work commandeered my consciousness.
After that I'd only remember the melancholy nostalgically,
as if I were looking over a deep, swelling ocean that I
knew was too cold and fierce to swim in but the shock
to the system would be worth it, just to be a part of
something that huge, that tactile, that elemental. Then
I would remember how the ocean is actually best enjoyed
from a distance, because up close it's just salt and seaweed
and jellyfish and crap, so I would feel a little pride for being
able to conquer that masochistic urge to feel sorry for
myself. Which would remind me again of the original slight
--- that I had let the main dude down --- and I would work up
a sort of impotent anger with myself for awhile and then
get over it.
May 10-16
re: daer reader,
We know, we know, "dear" is misspelled in the above address. But there is a good reason for that. Can you guess what that reason is? If you can't, then we'll tell you later. Suffice to say for now that we sometimes go a bit too far in trying to be clever. But, we figure, better to go too far than not far enough. It is the same with bad humor, which is, we believe, better than no humor at all. Which reminds us of a joke we made up the other day. Do you know what cooks even faster than a wok? Answer: a run.
Still with us? Okay, tonight we have the return of the a capella rock and roll group FACE at 8:30pm. These guys are immensely popular and we suggest getting in an hour early if you want a seat. They do put on a very entertaining show, replete with vocal beat box.
Tomorrow night we have Paul Mullikin for the winetasting, then at 8pm we have the band Aural Eli xir opening for the band Girls On Top at 9pm. Girls On Top makes us want to start a band called Boys On Bottom. We haven't had this band before but they come recommended from Nissi's in Lafayette. They are a groove dance band with three harmonizing women singers specializing in R&B and Funk.
Saturday, at 3pm, is a rock and roll band called the Jagtones, specializing in 50's music. Think sock hop. Then at 6pm we'll have a great local singer songwriter named Ben Long. At 8pm is local acoustic rockers Stonebraker, at 9pm roots band Switchgrass and at 10pm a band we haven't had before called Colorado Rain, brought to us by our friends in Switchgrass. Another long beautiful Saturday.
Sunday is mother's day so moms bring your kids down for Baby Boogie and treat yourself to a martini and a dessert pie. Or get a babysitter and treat yourself to a salsa lesson at 8pm.
That's the weekend update.
Oh, and the reason we misspell "dear" in the address to this letter was to make it into a palindrome (same forward as backward).
D Love,
Evol D
Extra Credit: Speaking of palindromes. How about a kind of palindrome poem. Or palindroem. This one reads the same forward as backward, at the level of the line, and has an interesting dramatic effect. You know that effect where people that are untrustworthy have a hard time trusting? That is a kind of palindrome itself and you get a feel for that in this poem written by James Lindon in 1967.
Doppelganger
Entering the lonely house with my wife
I saw him for the first time
Peering furtively from behind a bush --
Blackness that moved,
A shape amid the shadows,
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Put him to flight forever --
I dared not
(For reasons that I failed to understand),
Though I knew I should act at once.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
He came, and I saw him crouching
Night after night.
Night after night
He came, and I saw him crouching,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone --
Though I knew I should act at once,
For reasons that I failed to understand
I dared not
Put him to flight forever.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
A shape amid the shadows,
Blackness that moved.
Peering furtively from behind a bush,
I saw him for the first time,
Entering the lonely house with my wife.
May 2-9
Dee Funk,
Sorry for the late D mail. We had some untechnical problems.
We'll let you know about a couple of things last minute...
Tonight, Friday, May 4, we have John Maldonado on the flamenco guitar for the winetasting. Last time we had this innovative guitarist was with the band Electrodelic, so we are looking forward to hearing a different side of John. After John we have the return of Sammy Dee Morton, another great guitarist. This guy is a legend in blues circles and is possessed by the spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His band will get you moving.
Saturday, May 5th, we've got a belly dance lessons and a belly dance swap (like a garage sale for belly dancers) happening in the afternoon. Check out www.dance_phoenix.com for more details. Saturday night there is going to be a mega Cinco De Mayo show with Molly Cherington, Zebra Junction, Ten Ft. Tall, Lawhead and Nicole Torres, in that order. There will be some good surprises including an aerial hoop dance (suspended from the rafters). Only $5 for the whole shebang.
Hurry down. Your pizza's getting cold.
Love
D function
Extra Credit:
Adam D received an anthology in the mail yesterday which featured some of his own poetry. This came as a surprise since Adam didn't know about the anthology, a very handsome book put out by Roof Books called, "Nineteen Lines: A Drawing Center Writing Anthology." However, even though Adam doesn't much care for the idea of a "canon", which he considers too exclusive, he has, nonetheless, always secretly wanted to be in an anthology. One of the poems in the anthology is one he had forgotten he had written, which he, himself, had completely dismissed, a strange poem which we will include here.
Specifics Questioned
There is writing on my finger
which mysteriously appeared
& the very impulse to dismiss it
leads to the bald man stripped &
screaming, "It ends with a whimper,
not with a bang!" & jumping up, fist up,
as if happy with a foreign currency.
How does a reasonable man respond
to a wingless frog bumping his ass in the mud?
With glam-rock sequins that's how!
The great loss to up-to-date talk is hereby addressed.
Meet the man on the other end. His name is mud.
April 26-May 2
Deard,
How many ways are there to mess with the D? Who knew? ;^D
This weekend will be an excellent beginning of next week and an excellent end of this one. Tonight, Thursday, April 26, we have the return of the smooth and soothing songs of The Blackthorn Project. Husband and wife rootsy songsmiths. They will have their friend Josh Werner on board too. They are fall-in-lovable-with.
For the winetasting tomorrow we have this cat Joe Jeffers. This guy fell out of the sky. One of the smoothest jazz singers we've ever had, a great stylist, an unknown legend waiting to happen. After the winetasting we have more folks that could easily be featured in the category of legends in the making, Dan Walker and Oakhurst. We haven't had Oakhurst in for 3 years and in the meantime they took over the Appaloosa from Hickenlooper in LoDo and have been playing out a heck of a lot, garnering a serious rep. Our thanks to Danielle Hastings for getting them back in. They are a ripping good time. Hope you can make it.
Saturday afternoon we have a talent show for F Note. We haven't seen anything from F Note for awhile. But we have Faith. Come see some new talent.
Saturday evening, at 7pm, we have an acoustic performance from a pop rock band from Atlanta called Fervor.
Then at 9pm we have the Legendary Roy Carrier and the Night Rockers. Roy is royalty in the Zydeco world and it is an honor that he chooses to come back to the D Note again. We dance hard every time. Don't miss.
Sunday afternoon we have a Marvelous Mother's Day Gift Show from 11am-2pm. Where else can you shop, support local artists, enjoy great music, eat great pizza and have a glass of wine? Show will feature hand knit wearable art by Morning Dove Designs, jewelry by Mystic Warrior, Lotions and Balms by Little Sprite, jewelry by Deb Fine Creations, Beads&Baubles by Alex, Copper Creations by Jan, Slings by Mambowear, Pottery by Sumi, CLK Jewelry and music by Jax Delaguerre and his Zydeco Crew. Woo hoo.
All that, some baby boogie, some Salsa and a bag of chips and you should be all ready to go next week : D
love to love ya baby,
Dee Dee Ramone
Extra Credit. Genevieve's father, Dr. Joseph George, read an epithalamion (a wedding poem) for Genevieve and Adam at their wedding in Italy. We thought it was a beautiful poem and so we include it here, to share with you.
Steady steady
ebb and flow
pendular measures of thoughts,
on the swing
Suspended from the vaults of heaven
Momentary hint
of closeness to the cosmos
Fleeting excursions of flight
Once having shed
life's dusty clothing
Pendular measures on the swing
And then
A perceptible unwilled change
In the measure of my sway
Don't push me!
Say! am I not in control
of the rhythm of my life?
And quietly
the voice of
surrender
Will you marry me?
The reply
breaking up from the wellspring of my soul
Ah! Duet
of the hymn to
surrender
Love's dart finds the chink
in self's armor
and now
the spiral out of control.
Love is a decision
affirms the cerebral ,
not clothed with feelings
or chill bumps
The alchemist knows,
dross removed,
Love poured out of the crucible
of the refiner's furnace
it is pure will.
I ask a gape
You smile understandingly
agape
So you shed your armor of self
And step out
now vulnerable
to make a covenant
with the Third
The Lord of covenants
He Who was, Who is and Who is to come
Who says He is present
In the now
to sustain you both in your covenant
As you journey
As life's companions
We your witnesses
see our memories fade
like the deeply etched bold writings on the wind swept sand
And each skid into a personal sunset
as we max out
with both flippers and hearty thumps on our machines
to keep our personalized pinballs in play
As we game alongside of you.
Your just uttered
Unconditional oaths
Only soundbites
Yet to be fleshed in the will
are and have yet to travel
through the galaxies
to echo for the first timeless moment,
Well after you arrive
as life's companion's
at the portals of eternity
to see the face of the Lord of your covenant
and live.
Mahktum! councils the bedouin in the caravan
as you point to a mirage
It is written
It is in the process
So, not to have arrived
at love
yet
Well, push me harder, push me higher
I'll take a chance
Ah! To open my arms
to become vulnerable
incense
at this love's altar
of sacrifice
not worship
April 18-26
Hey, we wonder.
We do? What?
We wonder what you are doing this weekend.
Oh. Well, tonight, we are having that classic banjo player Pete Wernick and his rather remarkable band Flexigrass. They are almost done with their winter tenure, so we want to see them while we still can.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we'll listen to Suzanne Morales singing her own beautiful latin songs. Suzanne sings for La Candela, one of our salsa bands. She gave a CD to Saint Genevieve who in turned passed it on to us, saying it was very romantic music and we should book it for the winetasting. And voila!
After the winetasting we will have a birthday party for our red dread headed smile of a bartender, Lisa G. It will feature surprise guests, including the Faux Reals. The Faux Reals are not The Reals, but they are so similar that we defy you to discern the difference. We hope you will come celebrate Miss Lisa and have too much fun with us.
On Saturday night we will go and see the real Reals at the Oriental Theater with our friends The Lovely and Talented and The Late Jack Redell. We will move our party over there, as the D note will be closed for a private wedding that evening.
Blackthorn Project will play next Thursday for all you fans.
Be good kids. Or bad. Either way,
Love,
D note
Extra Credit: The great Colorado poet Ed Dorn is all but unknown in Colorado, which is surprising considering he was one of the most influential and great poets of the last century. Ed wasn't born in Colorado but he did die here and often wrote about it. He lived the last 22 years of his life in Boulder teaching at the university of Colorado and writing brave iconoclastic lyrically perfect poems with more wit & grit than any New Yorker poet ever did.
The venerable and heroic publisher Penguin has released a selected works of Ed Dorn called "Way More West." So in Ed's honor we will leave you with two of the last poems Ed wrote, near the end of a two year battle with cancer in '99, both included in the new book.
The Dull Relief of General Pain--
Oxycontin, Roxicodone and Codeine
in General
If hundreds of thousands, perhaps
millions of people in North Korea
are succumbing to starvation,
if eighty-five percent of the country's children
are malnourished, and in some towns
corpses line the streets and rumors of
cannibalism are rife, where's Bob Geldof?--
are these people not the world?
Are they too late on the world's stage?
Doesn't Michael Jackson like children anymore?
Or did he never like communist children?
What's going on? This is poetry calling!
Poetry is waiting for an answer.
The Garden of the White Rose
Lord, your mercy is stretched so thin
to accommodate the need
of the trembling earth--
How can I solicit even
a particle of it
for the relief of my singularity
the single White Rose
across the garden will
return next year
identical to your faith--
the White Rose, whose
house is light against the
threatening darkness.
[dnote-events] mid april, ought 7
Bongiorno,
Italy was fantastico, even better than we expected. The food, the architecture, the art, the clothes, all combined with the warmth and vivacity of the people, left a deep impression. Plus Adam and Genevieve joined the union. Hurrah.
While we were gone we found out we made the front of the Denver Post's A&E section this past Sunday, plus we found out the Westword gave us best gourmet pizza and best vegetarian restaurant. That's incredible.
So that, besides the fact that we missed you, make it great to be back.
Let's get to business. Tonight, Thursday, April 12th, at 8pm we have Andrea Ball w/ Alright, Alright, and Bethany Johnson. We heard Andrea Ball when Amy K from Bliss slipped us her demo. It was really good. Girl's got groove, substance and style. She is bringing along some friends and it should be a good night.
Tomorrow we have Bonnie Lowdermilk in for winetasting. Good jazz singer. Honored to have her. After the winetasting we have Pete Wernick and Head For The Hills. Head For The Hills is our favorite local butt kicking bluegrass band. Some of us heretics even like them better than Yonder Mountain String Band. They always get us dancing hard. And they love Pete Wernick and have persuaded him to join them.
Saturday we have a benefit for Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks raises money for research into autism spectrum disorders. For this show they've brought on some fun bands, Cobalt Jack, Fragment and Local 6, ranging from pop to blues to rock. We love to support a good cause while we have a good time so come on out.
We have an artist friend, Lyubin, from Bulgaria showing a short film on Monday at 10pm. Lyubin is a sculptor, folksinger and film maker. This film will be about the process of his art. We can probably get him to sing a few songs too. We dig that haunting Bulgarian sound.
Arrivederci,
The D-talians
Extra Credit. The great Kurt Vonnegut finally left us yesterday to rest his weary bones for good. Rest in peace!
True story, word of honor: we met Vonnegut once. We even tried to cheer him up with a story of having just been accosted in the elevator on the way up to his room by some stranger telling us to cheer up. But he didn't seem amused, just gave us that look. Nonetheless, we loved the old codger, one of our very best social critics, hilarious and poignant at once, a modern Mark Twain.
"I've had a hell of a good time," Vonnegut once wrote. "I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." And he also wrote, in the novel Hocus Pocus, "A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."
So we will leave you with an apropos poem by Vonnegut himself,
Joe Heller
True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter island.
I said, "Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel 'Catch-22'
has earned in its entire history?"
And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have."
And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?"
And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough."
Not bad! Rest in peace!
-- Kurt Vonnegut
[dnote-events] march into april, ought 7
D Pers,
The DeGraff Brothers and family are heading to Italy for three weeks for the wedding of Adam and Genevieve. We'll miss you all dearly, but we trust you will keep the place warm for us.
Here's a run down of the schedule for the next 3 weeks. Print it up and hang it on your fridge.
And a note: If you haven't done your taxes yet we wanted to turn you on to a rare opportunity to turn taxes primarily used for war into money dedicated to peace to help out our friends at PeaceJam. It is easy to do. Go to www.refundsforgood.org for details.
Ciao baby,
D parting
Extra Credit: Two poems of similar content, but very different styles, by a Chinese poet, Li Po, of the 8th century and a Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, of the 17th century.
A Vindication
If heaven loved not the wine,
A Wine Star would not be in heaven;
If earth loved not the wine,
The Wine Spring would not be on the earth.
Since heaven and earth love the wine,
Need a tippling mortal be ashamed?
The transparent wine, I hear,
Has the soothing virtue of a sage,
While the turgid is rich, the say,
As the fertile mind of the wise.
Both the sage and the wise were drinkers,
Why seek for peers among gods and goblins?
Three cups open the grand door to bliss;
Take a jugful, the universe is yours.
Such is the rapture of the wine,
That the sober shall never inherit.
--Li Po
A bee
staggers out
of the peony
[dnote-events] early to mid march, ought 7
D scribes,
Congratulations all around! We made Jason Sheehan's food review column in the Westword! If you haven't seen it yet check out http://www.westword.com/2007-03-08/dining/d-note/ . Not the most accurate portrayal of the D Note environs, as most of you will notice, but, more importantly, he loves the pizza. This exposure should help us get through year five. Thanks go out especially to those of you who wrote in to help persuade Jason to come down. I'm sure every one of those letters helped. They certainly helped us, so touched were we by their passion and good will.
Tonight, Pete Wernick and Flexigrass give us their unique bluegrazz at 7:45pm. Great music for pizza digestion and great pizza for music digestion.
Note: tomorrow night there is no winetasting. Instead there is a fundraiser for Arvada Highschool Alumni Association. The Arvada Highschool Band plays from 5-7:30pm and then the great Hazel Miller plays at 8pm. Cover is $5 before 7 and $10 after.
Saturday night we have George Inai at 7pm. George played the winetasting a few weeks ago and does a very interesting mish mash of crooning jazz pop, with a little Japanese and Mexican influence. Hard to describe really, but we think it is way cool. At 8pm is a guy named John Croghan, formerly of Rio Grandiose.
Then at 9:30pm we have something called The Antacid Test (a riff off the acid tests of the 60s), which will include psychedelic music by The New Ancient Astronauts, The Skivies and Vegas Witchcraft, live painting by Matt Kirk and visual stimulus by AWD. Probably not a good show for Jason Sheehan types, but we are really looking forward to it.
Also, Saturday from 1 - 3pm we'll have a clothing swap for the ladies and Sunday 1 - 3 we'll have one for the kids. Here's a chance to clean out your closet and bring in your gently used clothes, find new gently used clothes without spending $$. Clothes who do not find an
owner are donated to The Family Tree. Clean out, pick up and donate too!
Finally, we highly recommend the temporary Logan show at the new Denver Museum of Modern Art, a phenomenal collection of contemporary art, wonder upon wonder.
Thanks for listening,
D Script
Extra Credit: According to the Westword review, Jason Sheehan does not like poetry, with the exception of T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams and Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon and Eliot were very gifted, but to our taste trafficked a bit too heavily in angst. Sassoon raged against war (beautifully, though perhaps not as movingly as his friend Wilfred Owen) and Eliot mostly raged about getting older, definitely a glass half empty kind of guy. In Williams, however, we find our common poetic ground with Mr. Sheehan. So we'll dedicate the following poems of Dr. Williams to him. These two poems are interesting together as a kind of inversion of one another.
Landscape With The Fall of Icarus
According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring
a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry
of the year was
awake tingling
near
the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself
sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax
unsignificantly
off the coast
there was
a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning
Danse Russe
If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in silken mists
above shining trees, --
if I in my north room
dance naked, grotesquely
before my mirror
waving my shirt round my head
and singing softly to myself:
"I am lonely, lonely.
I was born to be lonely,
I am best so!"
if I admire my arms, my face
my shoulders, flanks, buttocks
against the yellow drawn shades, --
who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?
D regulars,
Here it is. It's happening. It's happening for real. Watch out for the mountain lions. Be careful of the watoosie. Don't let the skitters get you down. Follow the yellow brick road to Jabberwocky. What? Sorry. As soon as anyone reminds us what’s “real” we tend to take a dive straight into nonsense. It is an immature habit and we will stop it this instant! Okay, now what? I guess we'll play some mouth harp with the Clamdaddys. Wow, that was fun!
Thursday, March 1, tonight for most of you, we have a band called The Hoagies. A few of you dear readers will remember Hoagy Carmichael. He's the guy who wrote the song "Heart and Soul", which most of us learned to play in duet on the piano when we were but wee ones. He also wrote a lot of great songs and had a unique swing style. The Hoagies start with their namesake and take off from there. We had them in a few years ago and they were terrific. Starts at 8. Bring a date. Don't be late.
Friday we have the inestimable Chris Lawhead in for the winetasting. If you go please request that Chris do Hendrix's “Machine Gun” on his flute. It’s a killer. After Chris we have Lionel Young in the house at 8pm. We love this man. And he always brings a bunch of lovable mugs with him too.
Saturday we have an excellent bluegrass show. The night will start out with our friend Kevin Deforrest at 7pm. Kevin will be joined by D Note favorites 40 Gallon Still, great guys, great picking, great harmonies. Then at 9ish we'll have the exciting premier of a new band on the scene, THE BILLY PILGRIMS. This band is made up of players from Open Road and Hit & Run among others. Open Road is pretty much our favorite bluegrass band ever, we still bemoan the loss, and Hit & Run was great too, so we're anxious to hear what comes out of this blessed union. Only $5, come one, come all (especially if you call yourself a bluegrass fan!)
Monday night, in the open stage spotlight, we have a surf band from Lakewood called The Outlandos at 9pm. We have a feeling these guys are going to ride the Pacific waves painted on the mural behind the stage all the way to shore. Hang ten.
Back to nonsense,
D regulator
Extra Credit: There is a wonderful piece of “nonsense” in one of the men's stalls at the D Note. It's been up for a few years. We remember ripping it out of some anthology. We can't remember who wrote it though. We put a few lines into Google and it didn't come up. We may never learn the author now. We've copied it down for you, especially you ladies, who shall probably never see it in the men’s room. If anybody knows the author, let us know. We're pretty sure this is a translation from the French.
Sentence
And why not the hedge of geysers the obelisk of hours the smooth scream
of clouds the seas quartered pale green spattered by good-for-nothing
birds and hope playing marbles on the beams and in between of
houses and the dolphin-like rips of banana tree suckers
in the top branches of the sun on the stubbed heart of mornings on the
acrid canvas of the sky a day of chalk of falcons of rain of acacia on
a partulan of primeval islands shaking their saline hair interposed by
fingers of masts handwritten for any purpose under the blink of
chance with its shadow sung delights an assassin clad in rich and
calm muslins like a chant of hard wine.
[dnote-events] late February, ought 7
D ants in the pants,
What is that old maxim... something like: "Dance as if no one is watching you." Starting around 4th grade it was cool to think everything was uncool. That was the way the cool people kept their status, by kicking others down a notch. If you did anything even slightly different, you would be fodder for the entire class's ridicule. This ridicule is such a horrible thing to feel at such a vulnerable age that most of us never get over it. And, unfortunately, the cool people never get over dissing either, which makes uninhibited dancing even more difficult. This, we believe, is a great tragedy, for there are few things better for the soul than to let your self go to the music. We encourage you to ignore the haters and to get out on the dance floor. There is another great adage to keep in mind: "Free your mind and your booty will follow."
Tonight, Thursday, Feb. 22, we have an acoustic indie/alternative rock show with Substant and Ashfield at 8pm.
Tomorrow we have the Alltunators for the winetasting. Then Sammy Dee is back in the house plying his killer stevie ray vaughn-esque blues. Here are some fun facts about Sammy. Sammy Dee is a country blues guitar master. Playing for 30 years, Sammy has toured the country and shared the stage with blues greats Tab Benoit, Anson Funderburgh, Debbie Davies, and Doug Kershaw. Sammy has appeared at New Orleans' famous Jazzfest alongside B.B. King and other legends. Sammy spent four years playing guitar in support of the legendary fiddler Doug Kershaw earning respect and accolades across the country. Sammy has been honored as an official Louisiana Bluesman.
Saturday we have Tom Satriano in at 6pm doing his twist on classic rock. At 9pm we have LazyFace and then the Tami Nichols Band. First time in the house for LazyFace and Tami Nichols, so let's give them a good welcome.
Monday we have a special guest from Duluth Minnesota, Jamestown Story. They've got 50,000 friends on myspace. That's a lot of friends. They will be followed by the local band "Can Robin Save Batman".
Forget not that we are now open for lunch everyday. Spread the word. Let's see if we can get the D Note through a 5th year. God only knows how many miracles it has taken to get us this far.
We love you and hope you'll come dance with us soon,
Bust D Move
Extra Credit: Here's the 8th and last stanza of William Butler Yeat's poem, "Among School Children". It seemed appropriate.
Labour is blossoming or dancing where
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul.
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
[dnote-events] mid February, ought 7
Deloved,
As above, so below. Not sure what that means, exactly, but it seems right. Also, as Tommy Knox from the Clamdaddys said to us last night, "what goes in must come out". Tommy further derived from this maxim that we are all falling through the universe. We're not exactly sure what Tommy meant by this, but it does sound like a lovely idea. Tommy tends to speak poetic nonsense wisdom, which often only dawns on us long after we've said goodnight. It was good to see him last night for our 4 year anniversary party. Good to see many of you, who braved the icy roads and bore the slow traffic in order to celebrate with us. There is something magical about a house packed full of friends on a wintry day, especially when one considers that the roads leading in were so difficult to traverse. Traverse is a good word, no? We need to bring it back. Alejandro Castano, also in the house last night, on drums, slipped the word inveigle into our conversation, almost slipped it right past us, thus reminding us of another good word going away. To inveigle, to artfully coax. Everybody, spread the word, help inveigle it back into the lexicon.
Tonight, tonight, Thursday, Feb 15, we have the mash up brilliance of Flexigrass. Come watch as Pete and the boys genre bend themselves into a tasty pretzel.
Tomorrow for winetasting we've got a guy named George Inai that came in from the blue to open stage and impressed the heck out of us. Hard to describe the music, kind of spaghetti western, Tarantino-esque. He's also a brilliant artist with perhaps the most fabulous CD packaging we've seen thus far. No kidding. Come check him out for sure. Go to www.georgeinai.com for a flavor of his art.
After George, at 8pm, the overly lovable Lionel Young will come back to woo us with his musical prowess.
Saturday we start the day off at noon with a Mardi Gras Benefit for savedarfur.org w/ Zydematics, Johnny-O, Pinion Way Band, Jessie Burns and Jon Sousa. This should be big. Lots of good press went into it. On Channel 9 news Saturday morning at 8:45 AM, the Zydematics are going to play and the are going to plug the benefit. Savedarfur.org is an amazing organization, so check them out and come show your support on the dance floor.
Saturday night at 7pm we have a young singer songwriter on the scene named TJ Melendez. Then at 8:30pm one of our favorite local bands, The Lovely and Talented, will be back to wow us. Latin-tinged swing, led by the riveting J.T. Nolan. Then at 11pm we'll have a band called Stoned Emotion. This band is a friend of Sierra's and can jam it, man.
Whip it good,
Dvolved
Extra Credit: To honor the valentine spirit, let's have a love poem from the great Roman poet Catullus. But first a little note from Purdue Univerity's John T. Kirby, "Poetry is notoriously difficult to translate; of poetry, Latin poetry is particularly difficult; and of Latin poetry, Catullus is among the most resistant to translation. One is inclined to agree, with Robert Frost, that poetry is precisely that aspect of literature which cannot be translated from one language to another." The following translation seems to do a good job of at least giving us a complex economy of tone.
5. CATVLLI CARMEN V Adapted from a translation by Rudy Negenborn [JTK]
Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love,
and let us judge all the rumors of the old men
to be worth just one penny!
The suns are able to fall and rise again:
When our brief light has gone out,
we must sleep one never-ending night.
Give me a thousand kisses, then another hundred,
then another thousand, then a second hundred,
then yet another thousand more, then another hundred.
Then, when we have made many thousands,
we will shake them all up, so that we don't know,
and so that no evildoer can put a hex on us when he finds out
how many kisses we have shared.
[dnote-events] early to mid february, ought 7
D Ship,
Every week there is a moment when we sit down to write this D Mail with no idea as yet to what we are going to write about. Normally an idea comes quickly. Other times nothing comes at all. Traditionally writers have adopted the method of writing about not knowing what they will write about as a way to at least write about something. If they are good writers they abandon these words before their absurd superfluity ever sees the light of another reader's eyes. If they are bad writers, they will shamelessly continue in this vain vein until some little bird delivers breaking news. As luck would have it a little bird has just landed in our ear. What? This little bird in our ear says, "Did you know the Federal Reserve is privately run by a cartel of bankers?" Wow, thanks little bird, you've saved the opening paragraph from being completely inane.
Tonight, Thursday, February 8, there is more escape from the inane with Pete Wernick and Flexigrass at 7:45pm and Stonefed at 10pm. Flexigrass is a force of nature not to be missed and Stonefed is a killer jam band from Moab Utah and this may be your only chance to hear them.
Tomorrow night we have the amazing electric bassist Matt Skellinger for the winetasting. Then we have a band called "A Band Called Jim" at 7:45pm, doing rock and reggae. At 9:30pm we have the return of Sammy Dee Band. Sammy Dee can sling Stevie Ray Vaughn style guitar as well the best of them, if not better.
Saturday night we have a great double header, the return of The Blackthorn Project at 7pm, followed by Dave Beegle at 9pm. Blackthorn Project packed the house last time they were in, so we suggest coming early for the show. Dave Beegle is Matthew D's favorite local musician, so come see why.
Dock on,
D Port
Extra Credit: Here’s two more poems from Leonard Cohen’s new Book of Longing. They are on opposing pages 108 and 109.
THE GREAT EVENT
It’s going to happen very soon. The great event
that will end the horror. That will end the sorrow.
Next Tuesday, when the sun goes down, I will
play the Moonlight Sonata backwards. This will
reverse the effects of the world’s mad plunge into
suffering for the last 200 million years. What a
lovely night that will be. What a sigh of relief, as
the senile robins become bright red again, and the
retired nightingales pick up their dusty tails, and
assert the majesty of creation!
THE PARIS SKY
The Paris sky
is blue and bright
I want to fly
with all my might
Her legs are long
her heart is high
The chains are strong
but so am I
[dnote-events] early February, double ought 7
D Votees,
As we are going to give you a long tail at the end of this D mail, we'll
keep the header short.
Was that short enough? Good. Got to keep you fresh. Tonight, February 2, our
friend Monte giving his sweet vibe on guitar for the winetasting at 5pm.
Then the great Lionel Young will grace us with his presence again at 8pm.
Saturday's a big day (as usual). At 3pm we have a little birthday
celebration for Bob Marley with Ital Influence. Ital Influence is a great
little reggae band so come out and feel the rasta vibrations at the note and
celebrate the great man's birthday with us.
Then at 8pm we've got half a dozen of Denver's greatest songwriters all
leading up to the sweat-inducing powerhouse roots music of The Reals. The
Reals are pretty much our favorite dance band ever. Total magic when those
guys are in the house. The songwriters include The Late Jack Redell, Matt
Fox and Joe Pope III (both from the highly acclaimed local band Born In The
Flood), Tom Zingaro and John Common. Wow.
Sunday there's a Cajun jam led by Jax De La Guerre at noon. Then at 3pm we
have the ever blossoming Baby Boogie. It was wonderfully madcap last week
and we expect it to just get better and better. At 8pm we have a Salsa
lesson and at 9:00pm we have the accomplished and highly respected Salsa
orchestra Cojuntos Colores.
Monday, Adam D. hosts open stage. The winner of best of open stage last
week, by a slim margin, goes to the old timey sci fi folk of The
Alltunaters. Great stuff.
For more details check out www.dnote.us.
Hopelessly,
D Voter
Extra Credit: Okay, now time for that long tail end we promised. So we've
been reading Proust and came across a provocative paragraph about music. Not
exactly poetry, but Proust is about as close to poetry as prose gets. In
this passage the character Swann is encountering a piece of music for the
second time.
After the pianist had played, Swann felt and showed more interest in him
than in any of the other guests, for the following reason:
The year before, at an evening party, he had heard a piece of music played
on the piano and violin. At first he had appreciated only the material
quality of the sounds which those instruments secreted. And it had been a
source of keen pleasure when, below the narrow ribbon of the violin-part,
delicate, unyielding, substantial and governing the whole, he had suddenly
perceived, where it was trying to surge upwards in a flowing tide of sound,
the mass of the piano-part, multiform, coherent, level, and breaking
everywhere in melody like the deep blue tumult of the sea, silvered and
charmed into a minor key by the moonlight. But at a given moment, without
being able to distinguish any clear outline, or to give a name to what was
pleasing him, suddenly enraptured, he had tried to collect, to treasure in
his memory the phrase or harmony--he knew not which--that had just been
played, and had opened and expanded his soul, just as the fragrance of
certain roses, wafted upon the moist air of evening, has the power of
dilating our nostrils. Perhaps it was owing to his own ignorance of music
that he had been able to receive so confused an impression, one of those
that are, notwithstanding, our only purely musical impressions, limited in
their extent, entirely original, and irreducible into any other kind. An
impression of this order, vanishing in an instant, is, so to speak, an
impression sine materia. Presumably the notes which we hear at such moments
tend to spread out before our eyes, over surfaces greater or smaller
according to their pitch and volume; to trace arabesque designs, to give us
the sensation of breath or tenuity, stability or caprice. But the notes
themselves have vanished before these sensations have developed sufficiently
to escape submersion under those which the following, or even simultaneous
notes have already begun to awaken in us. And this indefinite perception
would continue to smother in its molten liquidity the motifs which now and
then emerge, barely discernible, to plunge again and disappear and drown;
recognized only by the particular kind of pleasure which they instill,
impossible to describe, to recollect, to name; ineffable;--if our memory,
like a labourer who toils at the laying down of firm foundations beneath the
tumult of the waves, did not, by fashioning for us facsimiles of those
fugitive phrases, enable us to compare and to contrast them with those that
follow. And so, hardly had the delicious sensation, which Swann had
experienced, died away, before his memory had furnished him with an
immediate transcript, summary, it is true, and provisional, but one on which
he had kept his eyes fixed while the playing continued, so effectively that,
when the same impression suddenly returned, it was no longer uncapturable.
He was able to picture to himself its extent, its symmetrical arrangement,
its notation, the strength of its expression; he had before him that
definite object which was no longer pure music, but rather design,
architecture, thought, and which allowed the actual music to be recalled.
This time he had distinguished, quite clearly, a phrase which emerged for a
few moments from the waves of sound. It had at once held out to him an
invitation to partake of intimate pleasures, of whose existence, before
hearing it, he had never dreamed, into which he felt that nothing but this
phrase could initiate him; and he had been filled with love for it, as with
a new and strange desire.
[dnote-events] Late January, double ought 7
Hi D ho,
Here's a voice in the wilderness. Sounds like the whistle of a train traveling at a hundred miles per hour, sung by Johnny Cash.
And here's the Great Thing happening tonight, Thursday, January 25. First, at 7pm, Elephant Revival Concept. Matthew D is in love with this music and listens to a house recording we made of them last time constantly. We called him for a descriptive quote of the band and his response was, "Well, um, they all sing, which they means they all pass the lead, all acoustic, very melodic, Bonnie Prince Billyish, lucid, like that tranquil state, is half of their music, and they do things like, they'll do a lot of hawaiin spiritual music, kind of hard to describe, but it's all bluegrass bent, you know. Also they are beautiful to watch." After Elephant Revival Concept at 9 is a local acoustic indie alternative band called Daryl Millard. www.myspace.com/darylmillardmusic. And at 10pm we have a new band on the scene called Flour. We called Diandra to get a description of this band, "Really funky jazz with like a kind of an African twist almost, kind of African, but not really, only some of the stuff, kind of like, I don't know, you should go onto myspace and listen to the songs they have on there because I bet you could come up with a better word than I could. They are like really extremely instrumental. Like jazz meets funk for sure." www.myspace.com/hearflower (also, hilarious myspace page--ed.)
The other great thing happening today is Mama D's birthday, happy birthday ma, 60 years, ta. We love you.
Tomorrow night is another full one, full to bursting. We start off the winetasting at 5pm with the jazz of the lovely Kent Hammer Trio led by Aden Harrell. Then at 7:30 the super infectious and well rendered Latino flavored music of James Hurtado. At 8:30 we have the funk of TMJ courtesy of our friend Lenii Light who runs the jazz jams every other Sunday morning. Then at 9:30pm we have the return of Clusterfunk. These guys definitely funked up the house last time they were in, lots of fun, k?
Saturday night, wouldn't you know it, more of the same, but different. At 5pm we have the Arvada Center Jazz Band. At 6:30pm we swing toward swing with the swinging sound of The Swinging Daddios, lead by Aden Harrell. (Aden Harrell, for the second time in one weekend!) If you like to swing dance, this is your chance! At 8:30pm we have A Melodic Daydream. This is a sweet acoustic pop band, check out their cool website, www.melodicdaydream.com. Heading up the night is The Jezebel Project, with Stacy Cushing and Fred Wolking (of Roadcone) and a few of their friends. These guys are always great.
Sunday, hey, Lenii does her jazz jam at 11am, Baby boogie gets down at 3pm and Salsa lessons start at 8pm.
Monday, Adam D hosts Open Stage. The competition of Best Open Stage performance last Monday was tight, but the prize goes to Wang Zen for his fierce, fiery, romantic poetry. He reminded us of a modern day Mayakovsky. He gets a drink on us and a prime spot for the next open stage, as well as mention on the website. Check out more of Wang Zen at www.wangzen.com
Tuesday, kindly join us for The Gratefully Deadicated open jam hosted by Damon Thomas.
And you-know-who leads us all in song next Wednesday. (hint: The Clamdaddys). For you baseball buffs, it is also worth mentioning that there will be a special guest for biz connect next Wednesday. Here's the Wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Kouzmanoff
Low and inside,
The D
Extra Credit: Since we invoked Mayakovsky we should probably also resurrect one of his poems here and now. Great Russian Poet from the turn of the 20th century. He was a fascinating character to say the least. See his intense eyes and read his story at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Mayakovsky. Here's the prologue of Mayakovsky's most famous poem.
A Cloud In Trousers
Your thought,
musing on a sodden brain
like a bloated lackey on a greasy couch.
I’ll taunt with a bloody morsel of heart;
and satiate my insolent, caustic contempt.
No grey hairs streak my soul,
no grandfatherly fondness there!
I shake the world with the might of my voice,
and walk – handsome,
twentytwoyearold.
Tender souls!
You play your love on a fiddle,
and the crude club their love on a drum.
But you cannot turn yourself inside out,
like me, and be just bare lips!
Come and be lessoned –
prim officiates of the angelic league,
lisping in drawing-room cambric.
You, too, who leaf your lips like a cook
turns the pages of a cookery book.
If you wish,
I shall rage on raw meat;
or, as the sky changes its hue,
if you wish,
I shall grow irreproachably tender:
not a man, but a cloud in trousers!
I deny the existence of blossoming Nice!
Again in song I glorify
men as crumpled as hospital beds,
and women as battered as proverbs.
[dnote-events] Mid to Late January, double ought 7
D canters,
This letter we come to you drunk, not on alcohol, but on music. Yes, it is true. The music has been so rapturous as of late at the D that a million stills of double happiness moonshine have sprung up in our brain, causing us to dance like fools.
Music is a generous mistress. But she is also a jealous mistress! She will not like it if you do not come fill up on her at the D note. She will not like it if you are not dancing. Tonight, you will have a chance with Peter Wernick and Flexigrass. If you do not come soon, mistress music will not be happy later.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have the premier, and very likely postmier, performance by Blue Toe. Blue Toe is comprised of Adam and Jeremy D, and largely consists of psychedelic trance folk music. At 8:30pm tomorrow night we have the return of a band they call Cobalt Jack. They got a dance floor up and going last time around and we expect the same this time.
Saturday night at 7pm we have the return of the ever popular Hafla. Middle Eastern music and dance. Yallah! is the band and they do a very hip version of middle eastern music. There will be several dance performances curated by Phoenix as well as open dancing. Check out www.phoenix-dance.com for more info. And get there early for a seat.
Sunday the ever growing baby boogie. Bring the kids. And then in the evening we will have ever wonderful salsa night with La Candela. Last week we had 200 dancers out even with the cold and snow!
Monday Adam D hosts the open stage. Bring something wonderful to the stage to entertain Adam, please. The new rule for open stage is that the newcomers and long-time-no-sees will always get to play. Help us revitalize this night and make this the best open stage in the entire world. Prizes will be given out for the most unique performance and for the most lovely. Starts at 7pm.
Tuesday we continue with the Gratefully Deadicated open jam hosted by Damon Thompson. Great vibe last week and we got a few players. We also want to expand into drums and space after 10pm, so drummers talk to Damon. We want to build this night fast and strong so it will stick, so if any of you kind deadheads out there will please help us spread the word, we be grateful. We also want to have 4 wii games going on around the room on tuesdays on video projectors. We need a force behind that project if it is to work, so we propose it as a mission for some wii lover out there.
Wednesday Clamdaddys. And that always feels like the start and the end of the week for us.
Louvre you,
Venus D Milo
Extra Credit: To continue with the leit motif of music as wine, we turn to two fragments by Mawl?n? Jal?l ad-D?n Muhammad R?m?, better known as simply Rumi.
"come on my friend
step into the tavern of ruins
taste the sweetness of life
in the company of another friend
i went out of my house
a drunkard came to me
someone whose glance
uncovered a hundred
houses in paradise
rocking and rolling
he was a sail
with no anchor but
he was the envy of all those sober ones
remaining on the shore
i begged
take me as your friend
i am your next of kin
he said i recognize no kin
among strangers
i left my belongings and
entered this tavern
i only have a chest
full of words
but can't utter
a single one"
and
"Be a connoisseur,
and taste with caution.
Any wine will get you high.
Judge like a king, and choose the purest,
the ones unadulterated with fear,
or some urgency about "what's needed."
Drink the wine that moves you
as a camel moves when it's been untied,
and is just ambling about."
[dnote-events] Mid January, ought 7
frienDs,
We've been hit with a series of bad weather weekends. Looks like we might have one more coming up. Don't let the weather stop you! Brave it with us and you shall be rewarded with music and food of such rare beauty and triumph as to make you forget weather altogether.
Perhaps the greatest of the Greats who have played the D note, Henry Butler, is back on Saturday night at 8pm. Completely compelling boogie woogie style piano artistry, with surprises at every turn and enough charisma to woo the stockings off a school marm. Check out the recent westword article on this guy. http://www.westword.com/Issues/2006-11-16/music/music.html
Also we are hoping Henry will sit in with the band playing after him, U.S Pipe and The Balls Johnson Dance Machine. Citrus, the leader of the group, regularly plays with George Clinton and P Funk, so he should be a good match with Henry.
Tonight, Thursday Jan. 11, we have the Freeman 3 doing beatbox and jazz at 7pm. Then we have a blues rock band called Big Bill and The Accelerators at 8:30pm. Friday New Dialectic playing the winetasting and Lionel Young Band playing the rest.
Next Tuesday we are starting up a gratefully deadicated jam with Damon Thomas. Damon's a friend of ours and has a beautiful style. So bring your instrument and come down and play next Tuesday.
But it is too cold out you say? Nay, come with the primrose, the love-vine, the buttercup; come with the stone-crop, whereof are posies made, pledges of love, in the Arvadan flora, come with the easter daisy, come with the snowballs of the guelder-rose, which begin to perfume the alleys of your great-aunt's garden ere the last snows of Lent are melted from its soil. Come with the glorious silken raiment of the lily, apparel fit for Solomon, and with the polychrome hues of the pansies. Come like a bouquet of spring flowers.
Ever and without
D Lay
Extra Credit: We're issuing a rerun poem this week. A few of you will remember this one from a few years ago. Worth rereading we think. It is by David Berman, of the band The Silver Jews.
Snow
Walking through a field with my little brother Seth
I pointed to a place where kids had made angels in the snow.
For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels
had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground.
He asked who had shot them and I said a farmer.
Then we were on the roof of the lake.
The ice looked like a photograph of water.
Why he asked. Why did he shoot them.
I didn't know where I was going with this.
They were on his property, I said.
When it's snowing, the outdoors seem like a room.
Today I traded hellos with my neighbor.
Our voices hung close in the new acoustics.
A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling.
We returned to our shoveling, working side by side in silence.
But why were they on his property, he asked.
[dnote-events] Early January, ought 7
D pers,
We took a trip to New York City last week. The level of art we were witness to left us inspired, in a spire, spiraling in, on fire. We'd like to be able to write off that trip. So for tax purposes, to make it a “business expense”, over the course of the next fiscal year, we promise to bring the dnote to the same level of amazing as NY City. We have our work cut out for us.
We're kidding about writing it off. Tonight we have a good start at amazing though. Pete Wernick and Flexigrass, a group they would go ape over in NY, is playing at 7:45pm. And at 9:45 we have a band called Elephant Revival Concept. These guys played a few months ago at the D Note and we fell in love with them. People in NY would go elephant for these guys. Go to their myspace for a listen. myspace.com/elephantrevivalconcept. Yes, a great night of music!
Tomorrow night, Friday, January 5, for winetasting we got us a Sitar player named Citrus. Citrus has been in the D Note before with the great local funk band U.S. Pipes and the Balls Johnson Dance Machine. Citrus also plays with the original funk freak George Clinton and Parliament. NY would go alien ape for that.
After winetasting we'll have the magic man, Lionel Young, and his band of tigers. We are blessed that this musical legend calls Arvada home. We feel the same way about the Clamdaddys, and many others too. We're glad they all didn't move to NY.
Saturday night, we got a quite right night. Starts off at 6pm with a new chanteuse on the scene, Cait. Then a band called Mestizo, a band of pop folksmen of bewitching harmony. At 8pm we have a new band coming quickly up in the scene from Wheatridge named Littany. This will be their CD release party. www.myspace.com/littanymusic. As Borat would say, very nice. Reminds us a bit of another up and coming band we once had play the D note a few times, The Fray. At 9pm we'll have our friend Ken Karnitsky and his friends, including the members of Bushtick and the dearly missed Rider Beware. Jeff from bushtick will have his sitar. So this weekend is a two sitar weekend for us. Take that NY. At 10pm we'll have Joshua Trinidad. He'll be playing with the Sputter, a great jazz band in their own right. Super cool. You should definitely go to www.myspace.com/joshuatrinidad and get a taste of this cat. In NY they would eat these guys up for dessert. There is also rumor of a magician performance around 9pm and a midnight reunion of Bushtick.
Sunday we have Jax Delaguerre doing a cajun jam at noon. Then at 3pm we have Baby Boogie. We got press in the Denver Post and Westword. Yay us. Check out the nice press on page 23 of this week's Westword.
Sunday night La Candela gives us salsa fever.
Is that enough information for your already too full brain?
rum rum rum,
D dum diddlies,
Extra Credit: While in New York we were honored to perform with many great poets at a poetry marathon on New Year's Day at St. Mark's Poetry Project. Here's some reportage. The most memorable line for us from the reading was the end of a poem written and read by the outlaw country singer Steve Earle: "My God, we are the barbarians. We are the barbarians. We are the barbarians." Another fine moment was when Jim Carroll (the protagonist of The Basketball Diaries) read a poem dedicated to the poet Gregory Corso. The first line was "Gregory Corso was not afraid to sleep in the wet spot of life." After Jim, the great Patti Smith got up on stage. Riffing off Jim Carroll she told a story of seeing Corso's grave in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, next to Shelley's grave. She said that a band of about 30 wild cats hang out around Corso's grave, but “they wouldn't have nothin' to do with Shelley's.” True story, she swears. She also related the story that the Master Carver had messed up on Shelley's grave and instead of carving "I am spirit", had carved "I am spirt." True story, she swears. Actually we did some research via google and found out her memory has rearranged the details. It is actually Corso's grave the master carver messed up on and the phrase is "Spirt of Life". It's also obvious the carver went back and added an apostrophe between the r and t to save face. Good stuff. We think Corso would've got a kick out of that typo. To see the poem this week, the rest of Corso’s poignant epitaph as well as the amazing epitaphs on Keats and Shelley's gravestones check out...
happyfatpants.blogspot.com/2005/11/protestant-cemetery.html
[dnote-events]New Year's, ought 7
D doodlies,
Re: New Year’s resolutions. Re-solve…to solve again. Every year around this time we look for a new solution for our various shades of blue. As pointed out by Bob Dylan on his Christmas themed XM radio show last week, the best solution for your blues is to help out someone less fortunate than yourself. Something worth keeping in mind when you are reflecting upon re-solving your own puzzle of a life this holiday season.
Another lovely solution is music and dance. And that is what we continue to resolve to bring to you. Tonight, Thursday, December 28, at 7pm, we have Kevin Deforrest and friends bringing you a very soothing kind of bluegrassy song. Excellent for pizza digestion.
Tomorrow night, Friday, December 29, for winetasting we have the ever popular guitar virtuoso Robert Eldridge at 5pm. At 7:30pm Aden Harrell, the bari canary, will be bringing some friends to play quite excellent jazz. And at 9pm we have the return of Steve Crenshaw and The Blues Shop. Serious blues, in the vein of Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Saturday night is going to be a super fun one. Bartenders Diandra and Lisa asked if we could have a Caribbean themed party and so we booked The Pan Jumbies, a fantastic steel drum band, and Irie Still, our favorite reggae band. Pan Jumbies will be starting at 7:30pm and Irie Still at 10pm. There will be pizza and boat drink specials. You also get a couple bucks off the door cover if you come in costume. Think pirates, or tourists, or even palm trees. Here’s your chance to take that Caribbean cruise you’ve been meaning to go on for years.
Sunday we start the day with Elenii Light and her jazz band at 11am. Then at 3pm we have special New Year’s Eve edition of Baby Boogie. Bring your kids in to celebrate the new year early with us!
Our adult New Year’s Eve party will feature the excellent Salsa band from Colorado Springs, Kizumba. There will be 3 different salsa lessons starting at 7pm and the band will start at 9:30. We’ll have champagne and dessert treats for everyone at midnight and the kitchen will stay open late for those who work up an appetite dancing.
And we’ll be closed New Year’s day, for recovery and reflection.
Okay, that’s a wrap.
D dun dun duh!
Extra Credit: Looks like more snow. So how about an ice cool poem about snow by the great Wallace Stevens. (For several short and insightful analyses of this poem check out… www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/stevens/snowman.htm)
The Snow Man
One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
[dnote-events] Christmas, ought 6
D frost,
As we write this, we notice that each letter we type is like a new footprint in a white expanse of snow. So, in the Christmas spirit, let’s stop and make a snow angel. Lay down on your back with us in the snowy space between this paragraph and the next and wave your arms and legs.
Beautiful! Now you can come in and dry off by the metaphorical fire and we will make you some metaphorical hot chocolate...with little metaphorical marshmallows.
Ah, that's cozy. What's going on this weekend you ask? Thursday, December 21, we’ll have the international recording star Pete Wernick and Flexigrass at 7:45pm. If you can make it out you’ll love it. Probably a good idea to call first to make sure we are open.
Friday we have the flautist phenom Chris Lawhead in for the winetasting. Then the universal recording star Lionel Young with his hale band, well met.
Saturday at 7:30pm we have a Rocky Mountain Christmas Show with John Adams doing the songs of John Denver. John Adams is often referred to as the Dutch John Denver. His rendition of John Denver is uncanny. And who couldn’t use some sunshine on his/her shoulder?
If you prefer your music a little grittier, then stick around for the whisky soaked rock and roll of MoTrucker at 9:30pm. Check them out www.motrucker.com. In typical dnote style there will be both a little yin this Saturday and a little yang.
Sunday we will have Baby Boogie at 3pm and Salsa at 8pm. Though we won’t have a salsa lesson as usual we will still have Salsa dancing, so come dance with us on Christmas Eve.
Christmas we’ll be closed.
Next Saturday night, December 30, we’ll have a big Caribbean Holiday party with the great steel drum band Pan Jumbies at 7:30pm and the reggae of Irie Still at 9:30pm. Come in Caribbean attire (pirate, tourist, palm tree, etc) and you'll get two bucks off at the door. Then New Year’s Eve we’ll have salsa with the band Kizumba. There will be extra lessons that night starting at 7pm, the kitchen will be staying open late and we’ll have champagne toasts and dessert pizza treats at midnight.
Stay warm,
D ice
Extra Credit: A poem by Mark Doty which asks an interesting question: if art's acceptable evidence, then mustn't what lies behind the world be at least as beautiful as the human voice? This one is fairly dense, so if you are short on either time or patience, just skip to the last 3 stanzas.
"Messiah (Christmas Portions)"
A little heat caught
in gleaming rags,
in shrouds of veil,
torn and sun-shot swaddlings:
over the Methodist roof,
two clouds propose a Zion
of their own, blazing
(colors of tarnish on copper)
against the steely close
of a coastal afternoon, December,
while under the steeple
the Choral Society
prepares to perform
Messiah, pouring, in their best
blacks and whites, onto the raked stage.
Not steep, really,
but from here,
the first pew, they're a looming
cloudbank of familiar angels:
that neighbor who
fights operatically
with her girlfriend, for one,
and the friendly bearded clerk
from the post office
--tenor trapped
in the body of a baritone? Altos
from the A&P, soprano
from the T-shirt shop:
today they're all poise,
costume and purpose
conveying the right note
of distance and formality.
Silence in the hall,
anticipatory, as if we're all
about to open a gift we're not sure
we'll like;
how could they
compete with sunset's burnished
oratorio? Thoughts which vanish,
when the violins begin.
Who'd have thought
they'd be so good? Every valley,
proclaims the solo tenor,
(a sleek blonde
I've seen somewhere before
-- the liquor store?) shall be exalted,
and in his handsome mouth the word
is lifted and opened
into more syllables
than we could count, central ah
dilated in a baroque melisma,
liquefied; the pour
of voice seems
to make the unplaned landscape
the text predicts the Lord
will heighten and tame.
This music
demonstrates what it claims:
glory shall be revealed. If art's
acceptable evidence,
mustn't what lies
behind the world be at least
as beautiful as the human voice?
The tenors lack confidence,
and the soloists,
half of them anyway, don't
have the strength to found
the mighty kingdoms
these passages propose
-- but the chorus, all together,
equals my burning clouds,
and seems itself to burn,
commingled powers
deeded to a larger, centering claim.
These aren't anyone we know;
choiring dissolves
familiarity in an up-
pouring rush which will not
rest, will not, for a moment,
be still.
Aren't we enlarged
by the scale of what we're able
to desire? Everything,
the choir insists,
might flame;
inside these wrappings
burns another, brighter life,
quickened, now,
by song: hear how
it cascades, in overlapping,
lapidary waves of praise? Still time.
Still time to change.
[dnote-events] mid December, ought 6
De-ers,
We are writing to you nakedly. Is that a case of TMI? No, it is a case of NEI. What is NEI? It’s a clever neoacronymalogism based on the common acronym TMI and created only yesterday. And what is a neoacronymalogism? A very ungainly neologism created only just now.
Tonight, Thursday, December 14, we have a benefit concert. We are nearing the end of the year and we are not too far away from our goal of helping to raise 60k in '06 (and effectively doubling the year before). We’re not saying this to pressure you into helping us make our goal. We're just happy to be close. The band tonight will be Full Stop Funk, starting at 8:30pm. Here’s an excerpt from their original proposal for the night,
“Chris with Full Stop here. We are putting together a benefit show to
help support an Arvada family who's son was murdered a couple of weeks
ago. The son worked with (at Dominos) and was good friends with our
sax player. In his words, the benefit show is to help a very nice
family who were the victims of a senselessly violent act, who need
money to cover medical and funeral expenses.
It won't be a sad, depressing event; the intention is just to get
people together in the spirit of helping, caring, and life-affirming
celebration.
It is for the Marx family, whose 24 yr old son was gunned down in
Thornton a couple of weeks ago.
You had mentioned to me that you host a lot of benefit shows. As it is
an Arvada family that we are trying to help out, we thought the D-Note
would be a perfect place.”
So come on out to help and care and affirm life.
Friday night we have a lovely evening of music planned. First at 5pm, Wonderlick, our young friend Alejandro Castano’s jazz band, will play the winetasting. Then at 7:30pm Alicia Fall Band will do their soulful rhythm&folk. And at 9:30pm we have a killer little band from NYC that we just lucked into called The Crooners. The Crooners play high-energy music rooted in the blues and jazz of the 1920’s and 30’s. But they also carry influences of modern day blues masters like Jimmi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and even Jack White. We’re psyched about this band. www.thecrooners.com
Saturday night at 8pm we have another benefit. Tis the Season. This one is for Children’s Hospital and will feature an All Star band, doing the southern rock jam thing, followed by an original rock band with a terrific name, Cat Like Dog. 10$ recommended donation. All door proceeds will go to Children’s Hospital.
Yers,
De-ists
Extra Credit: Reader Rebecca Thomson sent us some interesting reading. Because we can call anything a poem, if we like, we will call this a poem.
The Sacral Chakra is the center for limitless expansion
Common associations
• Musical note: D
• Relationships: One-on-one
• Asatru Virtue: Hospitality
• Area of consciousness: Emotional
• Meaning: Social
• Animal: Fish
• Light Alfar: Humanitarian; hospitable; expansive; optimistic; warm; altruistic
• Time: Do now for future
• Needs: Social contact and acceptance in group and family
• Challenges: To belong to the family of man through love and service.
• Element: Water
• Stones: Quartz, Jasper, Carnelian, Amber
• Color: Orange
• Stars, planets: Moon, Planets Venus and Pluto Second Chakra : Sacral
The Second Center or Navel Chakra, allows the attunement of the entire Etheric Body, especially the First Chakra. As this Center is fully activated, an inner emotion of bliss is experienced.
Carnelian - Orange - Sacral Chakra
The carnelian increases access to prana by clearing energy paths. It gives us motivation and vitality, stimulates and awakens the creative force and helps us focus on our goals. It magnetizes harmonious thoughts. Orange Carnelian enhances attunement with the inner self. It grounds energy into the physical, and awakens the creative force.
http://www.rebeccathomson.com
[dnote-events] early-mid december, ought 6
Deers,
Do you love to get long letters full of news and poetry from a loved one, at least once a week? I know we do. That’s why we write them to you. If you don’t like long, well thought out letters, because you are too busy, then you may have a hall pass and go straight to www.dnote.us and see the calendar for the scoop. And oh yeah, for those of you who are too busy, remember… the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon...
And while we’re getting sentimental, there's a family from San Francisco that have been in our thoughts, the Kim family. The Kim’s owned a fashion store in San Franscisco called DOE. Their logo looked uncannily like our logo. Genevieve even took a picture of it when she went back to San Francisco to visit last year. I've tried to attach it to this letter. Hopefully you can see it. The N and the T of our logo are represented by the body of the little deer. D(N)O(T)E. The Kim family were cool folks. You can tell, because DOE has a cool logo. Just found out a few days ago that the Kim family got lost on some mountain roads in Oregan in a snow storm. After a few days Mr. Kim left on foot to find help. Mrs. Kim stayed with her two baby girls and kept them alive for 9 days by breast feeding them after provisions were gone. Helicopters finally found them and dropped chocolate and gatorade to them from the sky. But the happiness of this good news was followed the next day by the heartbreaking news that Mr. Kim didn’t made it. For more coverage check out www.sfgate.com. Our love goes out to the Kims. Since we are symbolically connected with the Kims, we take this moment to consider the connection, which leads us to feel that we should all hold our families even more dear this winter.
Lots going on at the D note. Tonight, Thursday, Nov. 7th, Pete Wernick and Flexigrass at 7:45pm. Another chance to catch some of this infectious and original music played by some master musicians. this is music to warm you up.
Friday we have Kevin Garry on classical guitar for winetasting. Then Lionel Young, The Great, at 8, will regale you thoroughly.
Saturday at 1pm we have Tom Satriano and friends for F Note. Tom is a great songster and surrounds himself with great musicians.
Saturday night we have a dress up swing event by 23 skidoo. To see the gorgeous flyer and check into the many fine details go to http://23skidooland.com/flyers/dnoteDec9.jpg
Sunday at 11:30pm we have our 3rd annual holiday gift show for those of you who, like us, still have plenty of holiday shopping left to do. There are some truly amazing artisans added to the mix this year. There will be live music arranged by Jax De la Guerre. And of course, great pizza and cocktails.
At 3pm on Sunday we have baby boogie. A la 8pm la resplendivertimente grandioso de salsa. (Hey, we think we just made up a word in Spanish!)
This coming Tuesday we have two special events. First, at 7pm, Arvada Highschool jazz ensemble will perform. Then at 8pm we have PEDROSTOCK or PEDROFEST or PEDROPALOOZA.. A large and magical bevy of musicians and friends will converge to welcome back our good friend Pedro Castano from his stint with the Marines. It’s been a long time and it will be good to see him. I wonder what new tricks he’s learned on that trumpet of his while he’s been gone?
Wednesday we bring it back home again with the Damcladdys.
Catch you next week,
D pen pal
Extra Credit. Last week we asked you to send an exhortation to Jason Sheehan at the Westword to try to get him out to try our pizza. Turns out, unsurprisingly, we've got some good writers among our readers. Thank you. Your entreaties to Jason were beautiful. We will include some of these poems here now for all of you to enjoy.
I love dnote pizza and was asked to tell you that in their fabulous dnote
enews. It's true. I do love their pizza. I go there all the time...
partially cuz the place is so frickin' cool, but mostly for the pizza... oh
and the music is really good too. My favorite pizza is "satisfaction".
Could there possibly be a better pizza name than satisfaction? I need some
satisfaction. Chicken. I love chicken on pizza and for a lot of people
that is radical enough but then, just wait, there's more, pine nuts... they
add on pine nuts and tomatoes and basil and goat AND feta cheeses... it's
really the best pizza in town. But then, there's more, they have Back in
Black. I don't know why it's called that. But it's chicken (again),
tomatoes, pesto sauce, jalapenos and cheddar cheese. But who would think
to put cheddar cheese on a pizza? I wouldn't. And if it weren't for a
friend, I wouldn't have ever experienced it. But it's spicy... so beware.
Can you handle it? They provide a side of sour cream, but you better order
up another beer to have waiting when they deliver it... cuz it'll getcha.
kimberly
denver resident, dnote fan
Jason,
I live in Lakewood and have been to Virgilio's Pizzeria. It's very good. As
you mentioned, us Coloradoans are always in search of good sushi and pizza.
I have to tell you about a place in Oldtowne Arvada called the D-Note. It is
run by my friend Matthew Degraff and his brothers and I would describe it as
a fun and versatile environment. The decor is made by local artists and is
for sale, so the atmosphere is always changing. The entertainment has ranged
from Girl Rock Bands to Salsa night with instructors and has also included
break dancing battles, open mike nights, and phenomenal blues and jazz.
The real thing to rave about, though, is the pizza. Pizzas are named after
music, such as the Beastie Pie, Me and My Bobby Mcgee, and boast gourmet
ingredients. My favorite so far is the pepperoni...
I would love to hear your opinion!
These guys are awesome!
Katie
The D Note asked me to let you know about Pizza. I don't know why but
maybe you are having a "best in town" or something of that ilk.
I am a beer judge and critic and I observe that D Note have the most
sophisticated line up of beers for a jazz hall that I have ever seen.
As somebody from the UK. I would observe that in the UK we often have
genuine Pizza. I don't touch the stuff they call Pizza here in the USA. High fat, low
food value and saying that it has a bland taste is a compliment. Throw some
spiced slices of some form of sausage with an Italian sounding name and the
USA thinks it's eating well.
It isn't, it's just consuming calories.
The D Note has changed my perception of Pizzas, on the other hand there is
no attempt to make it "fast food.".
D Note Pizzas are brimming with flavor. There is only one attitude to take
at the D Note - try it.
Like beer which I consume for the flavor, visit the D Note and luxuriate in
flavor. The meat lovers Pizza has so much meat, you have to be brave for
that one. The ones with a touch of curry - what a delight. So many flavors,
so little time.
To catch the range one must visit with friends and order a few different
Pizzas.
If you have the palate for hops, have a Stones IPA with any of their non desert pizzas.
You will be in for a delightful education as to how good Pizza and real beer
can be.
I would suggest a wheat beer or desert wine with the desert pizzas.
Geoff
It's just got better -- hasn't it?
Hi Jason.
You may know the D-Note, which is a pub and music venue in Olde Town Arvada.
The music and beer are plenty to inspire a visit, but it also serves really
good and really unique food. They specialize in pizza and name each pizza
creation after a band or a song. They give plenty of vegetarian, vegan,
or whole grain options and seem really conscientious
about health and environmental concerns. They offer all the pizza staples as
well as pesto, tapenade, aged gouda, pine nuts, jalapenos, etc., etc. I live
in the area and go there often for the food as well as the atmosphere and
music. The three brothers who own the place are totally creative and
very personable. You would have plenty to write about!
Sarah
Dear Mr. Sheehan,
Because you prefer "surly and speedy" I'll forgo an introductory
paragraph lauding your clever and engaging column. Won't tell you how much I
enjoy your wit. I'll just get right to the point.
Of course Denver doesn't have the best pizza in the "entire goddamn
world", or even in the United States. We're five thousand feet above sea
level! No matter the high-altitude-adjustments a chef makes, Denver's pizza
isn't going to taste like New York's or Chicago's. (In what cuisine could
Denver be famous world-wide? Hard tack and elk jerky?)
If you restrict your comparisons to our geographical region, however,
you will not find the best pizza in Denver in Denver, but in Arvada. D-Note,
a Bohemian-esque bar in Olde Town Arvada (I'm not kidding) serves both
traditional and unusual combinations.
It is not Sicilian-style, and it would not be fair to slight it for not
measuring up in that category. More closely aligned with California-style,
it sports a lighter crust and excels in pesto sauces and the ethical
treatment of vegetables.
I've never tasted anything quite like D-Note pizza. I prefer it over
others available here in the Denver metro. My favorite is the Natty Dread,
with portabella, spinach, roasted red peppers, pine nuts with olive tapenade
sauce, Italian cheeses and gorgonzola.
There are plenty of hefty pies for meat lovers, and also delectable
dessert pizzas. (The paninis are excellent, too; although the panini menu is
too short.) Their pizza delights the palate and satisfies the appetite
without creating a traffic jam in the large intestine.
Not only is the pizza exceptional, but D-Note features outstanding live
music, such as Wendy Woo, The Reals, Trace Bundy, and Zebra Junction on the
weekends, and jazz and blues jam sessions, blue grass, Salsa, Swing, etc,
almost every night. And did I mention they offer a full bar with creative
martinis and draft ales?
The brick walls of this retrofitted Olde Town location display local
art. The owners emphasize recycling, host community-oriented events such as
Baby Boogie for families with young children, and provide venue, staff, and
percentage of sales to local fund-raisers. Recently Habitat for Humanity
held a packed-house gathering with The Duke Street Kings and a silent
auction.
A friend has called it "the Ben and Jerry's of pizza". Micro Business
Development just named D-Note "Business Citizen of the Year".
Among their many varied events, there's a wine-tasting every Friday
afternoon sponsored by Primo Vino, and D-Note Biz Connection on Wednesdays
for the networking pleasure of local business owners. (The $5 cover is
donated to local charities.) For aspiring performers they host an open mic
every Monday night. Salsa lessons on Sunday night, complete with live Salsa
band.
There's no place like D-Note in Denver. If, having already betrothed
your taste buds in Rochester, you eschew dalliance with pizza in Denver,
there are plenty of other things to like about it. I hope, however, that
you'll try the pizza and compare it only to others in Denver.
One note: this is munchie-inspired pizza. Do not expect "speedy".
"Surly" is probably out too, although I doubt you'll experience being doted
on in an empty room unless you drop in on a Monday afternoon.
I usually choose to frequent D-note on a night the music appeals. Maybe
I'll have a draft Ninety Shilling and greet one of the DeGraff brothers,
chat with the bartenders and other relaxed customers, dance, or just listen
to the band while I wait.
Your column was a treat to read. I'll seek out more of your writing in
the future, and not just for your opinion on food.
Thanks,
Dee
Hi,
Have you been to the D-Note on Grandview in Arvada? I am a devoted fan of
theirs, not least of all for their wonderful, creative pizza (though the
music and friendly atmosphere help). They come up with playfully delicious
pizzas that are unlike anything I've had elsewhere. Try the Taj Mahal
pizza, which (with hummus and lettuce) pushes the boundaries of what we
define as a pizza.
I live in both hope and fear that the d-note will be discovered. Please
check it out.
Cheers,
Geoffrey
[dnote-events] early december, ought 6
D pends
The holiday spirit is upon us and we're feeling it. The Clamdaddys are playing an especially spirited version of their funky western blues as we write this. When we listen close the tears wash the dirt from our heart. Everything becomes precious. Not least of which you.
Gratitude is due. Thanks to Matthew and Monica. Their foolish go-for-broke ambition was the necessary thing to make the D note happen. Without that and the accompanying hair tearing we would very likely not be so happily listening to the sublime music of the Clamdaddys tonight. And thanks to brother Jeremy too for killing his feet every week behind the bar to help provide us all with the spirits we all so desperately need. And thanks to Mom and Dad, and Genevieve and Lisa and Andy and Diandra and Amy and Taj and Sierra and Tim and Lionel. And a thousand more thanks to the rest of the dedicated dnote family.
The debt of gratitude we carry is so much greater than we can ever repay. But we are happy to try.
Tonight, Thursdays, November 30, we have Slo Children at 7:30pm, and then Cutter Nuxon at 9pm, a gem of a local folk band, sounding a little like early Jefferson Airplane gone acoustic.
Tomorrow for the winetasting we have our friend J.T. Nolan on guitar. Then around 9pm the incomparable Lionel Young will play his heart out for us.
Saturday we have a dream come true show. It’s a long story, but it basically goes, we move to Arvada and hope there are enough like minded folks around. And along comes a neighbor like Ivan Suvanjieff. Ivan, along with his terrific wife Dawn, founded PeaceJam. PeaceJam was recently all over the news when they brought Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and several other Nobel Peace Prize Winners to Denver. PeaceJam happens to be down the street from us. Ivan was also in a seminal punk band called The Ramrods in early rock and roll Detroit. He was also friends with Charles Bukowski, among dozens of other great artists, musicians and poets. He’s a cultural treasure all by himself. And he happens to be a great painter. We’re having an opening for him and the beautiful black and white abstract pieces of his gracing D note. Since Ivan knows a lot of local great bands we have let him choose the entertainment this Saturday. Among other bands will be Zebra Junction. This band many of you may know as they often haunt our part of town. They are already legends in our books. And they have added a DeGraff brother song, "Captain of The Sea", to their set. So, good choice, Ivan. After ZJ will be the incredible Freak Street Project. These guys bring a world vibe to tradition funk and soul and have something special. They were nominated in Westword for best Soul/funk band. They will get you dancing. So we hope you will come and be part of the dream.
And we have a favor to ask. If you love our pizza would you write jason.sheehan@westword.com and let him know? We could use the exposure. Just take a second.
Gracias,
D Nada
Extra Credit: We seem to be going back to Gerard Manly Hopkins a lot. For those of you who want to go back, check out the d-buzz section of www.dnote.us. Here’s another poem by that great poet, maybe even the best poem ever written.
The Windhover
To Christ Our Lord
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, - the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: sheer plod makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.
And here, for extra extra credit, is an interpretation of this poem by Brown literature professor George P. Landow. Check it out to help you with some of the obscure references. If you have time!
The Windhover
Note that the dedication to Christ address Him directly and makes him part of the poem.
This morning I caught [sight of] the minion or servant of the morning, [who is] the dauphin, or crown-prince, of the Kingdom of Daylight----a falcon spotted or dappled by the dawn as he was riding the steady air over the rolling hills or land and as he was striding high up in the sky. How in his ecstasy he halted with his wings as if he were pulling back on a horse's reins. Then, he would launch himself again [as a child] on a swing [In the same way that] a skater's heel smoothly sweeps around a curve [when skating figures], the bird's hurling itself against the wind and then gliding with it, rebuffed and conquered that powerful natural force. My heart, which had been in hiding (from WHAT?), stirred itself--became excited for the bird's achievement and power, for its mastery of natural forces.
Then, at this point, all the bird's brute, animal beauty, courage, and --oh!-- his proud air and feathers
buckle or crumple! And the fire (the bright red of the bird's chest feathers as well as higher beauty)
is a billion times lovely and more dangerous [than the earlier mastery of natural forces that the hawk had show in his gliding], oh my chevalier (knight).
The fact that [the beauty of falling, danger, and descent is greater than the beauty of power] should not surprise us, because nature abounds with other instances of this higher principle: (1) simple plodding work of the ploughman makes the plough shine from its polishing against the cut earth and also makes the sillion, cut earth, shine, and [similarly] (2) bleak-looking embers [in a stove or fireplace], ah my dear[Christ], when they fall and hurt themselves also break open and the gashes reveal the beauty of red and gold.
[dnote-events] mid November, ought 6
D holes,
How's it hanging? A little to the left, maybe? Or perhaps a little to the right? That's okay! That's normal! But right in the middle? That's just a little off center, don't ya think?
Don't worry, we don't know what we're talking about either. But we do know that this weekend is going to be spectacular at the old watering hole. Tonight we have the ever amazing Peter Wernick and Flexigrass. If you don't know the history of the man, google him. Extensive Web Presence. Then after Flexigrass, at 10pm, we have a band called WhiteWater Ramble. This is bluegrass infused with rock and roll, a highly combustible combination. These guys are honored to play after Pete. And we're honored to have them rock the house.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have Tritone, the unbelievably smooth trio headed up by bari sax maestro Aden Harrell.
After Tritone we have a band called The Blackthorn Project. If you like very beautiful Americana you will like this. Here's an excerpt from the website (which is very nicely done, by the way).
"The core of Tim Thornton and Laurie Momary Thornton’s new musical endeavor, The Blackthorn Project, is wood: a mandolin and a fiddle. The rich melodic and percussive tones resonating through these instruments create the foundation of The Blackthorn Project’s progressive acoustic music. But it’s the tenderness of Laurie’s vocals and the earthiness of Tim’s, combined with the pair’s captivating songwriting, which set the project well-apart from garden-variety.
The Blackthorn Project is named for the Irish “tree of strife.” Blackthorn is the original translation of the Irish name Thornton, and the tree is symbolic of the enduring struggle against oppression and adversity. Appropriately, the Boulder, Colorado multi-instrumentalists are interested in music as an authentic look at life and our innate desire to live it in freedom. The life of faith is a common thread in many songs, whether in the Thorntons' own distinctive writing styles or their innovative adaptations of hymns, traditional melodies, or even fiddle tunes. They believe that people can be connected to each other through music, storytelling, and songwriting, and they want to be a part of this across cultures.
During their years with the Boulder-based band Newcomers Home, the pair toured extensively throughout the country, sharing the stage with acts like Nanci Griffith, Pat Green, Leftover Salmon, and the Jazz Mandolin Project.
Eventually, they and the rest of Newcomers Home recorded with renowned producer/engineer Gary Paczosa (Nickel Creek, Mindy Smith, Dolly Parton). Their unique musicianship also found its way through the bandwidth of stations like KBCO, KGNU, KCSU, KUNC and others across the country. Laurie penned the song “Drive,” which appeared on one of Boulder’s popular KBCO Studio C compilations, and both Tim and Laurie have played on numerous recordings outside the scope of Newcomers Home.
The Blackthorn Project is just that, a project. Tim and Laurie enjoy not knowing where their music will take them. In addition to mandolin and fiddle, Tim and Laurie incorporate diverse instrumentation onstage such as octave mandolin, viola, guitar, and harmonica. They are setting forth to collaborate with other musicians, visual artists, teachers, humanitarian workers, and others to promote and encourage love and creativity in and out of the country."
So check them out. Only $5 and they'll have the full band with them, a rarity.
This is going to be a long d-mail. Do you mind?
After The Blackthorn Project is The Elephant Revival Concept. This is more fiddle based Americana. You see, we can never get enough. We also liked the sound of the two shows together. It seems like a White Mouse should be in the picture somewhere, no? The Elephant Revival concept features one of our favorite local musicians, Bridget Law, on fiddle. Here's a little blurb from their myspace page...
"The Elephant Revival Concept (E.R.C.) is a collaboration of four very talented, dynamic and distinctive songwriters, musicians and singers consisting of Bonnie Paine of Tahlequah, OK (singer, washboard, guitar, cello, percussion), Daniel Rodriquez, of Mystic, CT (singer, guitar, fiddle, banjo,), Bridget Law, of Boulder, CO. (singer, fiddle, mandolin, guitar), and Dango Rose, of Chicago, Il. (upright bass, singer, mandolin, banjo). The music is virtually all original with all members contributing songs and compositions. The band is influenced by traditional forms and has strong roots in reggae, bluegrass, rock, folk and jazz. The underlying groove capacity remains fresh by maintaining a modest hip-hop sensibility. Overall the sound is new musical wine in a new bottle with a powerful vitality that gets a room moving and dancing, amidst the power of trance. Some of the most distinctive parts of the music are the beautiful haunting vocals of Bonnie, Bridget's stirring Celtic fiddle, Dango's understanding of simplistic groove, and Daniel's unique fingerstyle guitar. However, the collaboration and the harmonies become far greater than the parts."
That wraps Friday. Whew! But Saturday will be just as crazy. It is our 3rd annual benefit for Habitat For Humanity with The Duke Street Kings. Once again Pete McCay of 99.5 The Mountain will be hosting the auction. A cool twist this year will be a skateboard demo by skate legend Lynne Cooper at around 7pm. There's lots more info at www.thedukestreetkings.com. Remember, not only will you have a great time, but your contributions will go toward housing the homeless.
That's about enough news for now. Though keep in mind we're having a great bluegrass show next Saturday too with Quickdraw and Zephyr.
glazed and infused,
D nut
Extra Credit: Every week we've been listening to the Theme Time Radio Hour hosted by Bob Dylan on XM Radio. Besides being a riot and playing great music you've never heard before, Dylan also reads poems every week. This is a thrill for such a huge fan of both Dylan and poetry as we. Last week the theme was sleep. Dylan, in his bizarre intonation, read two beautiful poems we had not heard before by James Joyce and Ranier Maria Rilke. I decided to find them for you. (Incidentally, I found them both on personal blogs.)
To Say Before Going to Sleep
I would like to sing someone to sleep,
have someone to sit by and be with.
I would like to cradle you and softly sing,
be your companion while you sleep or wake.
I would like to be the only person
in the house who knew: the night outside was cold.
And would like to listen to you
and outside to the world and to the woods.
The clocks are striking, calling to each other,
and one can see right to the edge of time.
Outside the house a strange man is afoot
and a strange dog barks, wakened from his sleep.
Beyond that there is silence.
My eyes rest upon your face wide-open;
and they hold you gently, letting you go
when something in the dark begins to move.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Sleep Now, O Sleep Now
Sleep now, O sleep now,
O you unquiet heart!
A voice crying "Sleep now"
Is heard in my heart.
The voice of the winter
Is heard at the door.
O sleep, for the winter
Is crying "Sleep no more."
My kiss will give peace now
And quiet to your heart -- -
Sleep on in peace now,
O you unquiet heart!
James Joyce
[dnote-events] early-mid November, ought 6
D merits,
There's something we've been meaning to tell you. We're not sure how to say this exactly. It's kind of awkward. Don't take it personally or anything. I mean you are probably not even aware of it. Well, how does one go about just saying it?
Oh well, never mind. How about we forget the whole thing and meet at 8pm tonight to have some beers at the D note while listening to Armando Zuppa play his old old school banjo blues. After all, it is Armando's last performance in Colorado. After wiling us all with his ways for the last 10 years Armando has fallen in love and is following his heart to Ft. Lauderdale. They'll probably eat him up over there for dessert.
Tomorrow night, Friday, November 10, we have the charming Ragtime Bill playing for the winetasting, which will take us back 100 years. Then Lionel Young brings us back to the future with his funky rhythm and blues at 8pm.
Saturday night we have two special shows, which will take us to Spain and then over to Brazil. First at 8pm Steve Mullins is having a CD release party for his new CD "Aire". Steve is a flamenco master and a killer composer. He'll have a bevy of musicians and flamenco dancers performing with him. Then at 10pm we have the triumphant return of Sambadende to our stage. Sambadende is a super high energy samba dance band from Boulder. If you like to dance until you drop, this is a great band to do it to. We'll have Caipharinas on special too. We're lucky to have a band like Sambadende within 5000 miles of here and we won't take it for granted.
see ya after recess,
D tention
Extra Credit: Here is a very famous and exasperating poem by William Carlos Williams and then, for extra extra credit, some variations of this poem by Kenneth Koch...
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
1
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
and its wooden beams were so inviting.
2
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.
4
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!
[dnote-events] early November, ought 6
D send,
Like an aeroplane landing in your e-mail box. A party of ambassadors disembark and announce to the media what is happening this weekend over in the land of D-notia.
Actually, there is a group of Cuban ambassadors literally flying in this weekend; the Cuban Salsa band Havana NRG will be gracing our stage this Sunday night. We've talked to people who have danced to this band and they get this big smile on their face when they talk about it. We are very very excited to have them here this Sunday night and hope you will be here to greet these dignitaries with your shooka shooka shaking. www.havananrg.com
Tonight, Thursday November 2, at 7:45 sharp, Pete Wernick and his band, Flexigrass will be doing there lovely bluegrass/dixieland hybrid. Those guys get great gas mileage, musically speaking. www.flexigrass.com
Friday for winetasting at 5pm we have this guy named Joe Jeffers. Joe came in on a Monday night during open stage and played one song and we were sold. This cat is a classic, deep baritone with groove and jazz oozing out of his pores. You'll see. Then at 8pm another man with music in his blood steps up to the stage, Lionel Young, with his band of rowdy roustabouts.
Saturday night will start at 7pm with a CD release party by World Echo. Good songs with good hooks played by good guys good. www.worldecho.org
Then at 9pm we'll have a show called Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, with One Way Ticket, Culhanes and Hollyfeld. We caught One Way Ticket at the Twelve Volt and fell in love with them. We asked them to put together a show for us and they did and we are itching in the saddle.
Check out the Calendar for the rest of the calendar. And a heads up for all of you (and especially Don Bain): There will be a flamenco dance show and CD release for the world class guitarist Steve Mullins next Saturday, Nov. 11, at 7pm followed by the super high energy Brazilian band Sambadende at 10. I always want to warn, NOT TO BE MISSED!, but we have so many shows like that I don't want to abuse the phrase.
One last note. A little gift from our friends at PeaceJam. One-minute segments detailing the greatest hopes and fears of PeaceJam's Nobel Peace Laureates, with Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, et al. Check it out… http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peacejam
Over and gone,
D part
Extra Credit: Here's a great poem by Rumi. Translated by Coleman Barks.
The New Rule
It's the old rule that drunks have to argue
and get into fights.
The lover is just as bad. he falls into a hole.
But down in that hole he finds something shining,
worth more than any amount of money or power.
Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street.
I took it as a sign to start singing,
falling up into the bowl of sky.
The bowl breaks. Everywhere is falling everywhere.
Nothing else to do.
Here's the new rule: break the wineglass,
and fall toward the glassblower's breath.
[dnote-events] Halloween, Aught 6
D(answers),
Our salsa night has been going for three years and I still can't get over it whenever I walk in on a Sunday night and see the room packed with such beautiful dancers. If you build it they will come, in action. When we put this night together for our beloved Genevieve, to ease her transition from San Francisco, we never had any idea the extent to which you could manifest a dream. How do you bring cosmopolitan to Arvada? Come check out Salsa night, if you haven't already, and you will see.
This last Sunday we asked a woman to dance. She said her name was Fadia. We asked her where she was from. She said "The Islands". We loved that answer. We asked her if she had been into the D Note before. She said came every week, that her life was very stressful and dancing on Sunday night at the D Note was her saving grace. And this reminded us of whom we were, made our whole purpose seem pointedly clear. There is healing power in the joy of dancing.
We're going to have an abundance of such fulfilled purpose this weekend, as we turn the dancing up to 11 this weekend. Tomorrow night we have Angus Mohr headlining the Samhain (Celtic Halloween), with Canned Haggis opening. Angus Mohr uses their secret weapon, the bagpipes, to give an epic air to classic rock greats like Dylan and Pink Floyd. They played our Samhain last year and we had a great time. Come wearing something Scottish, even if it is just plaid!
On Saturday night we have Wendy Woo back in the house. We had her last year for Halloween too. She came as a dog. Wendy Starts at 8pm and then our favorite band in the world, The Reals will get all spooky on us. We have never danced harder than we have to the Reals. We usually dance so long we get dancer high.There will be cool prizes for costumes.
On Sunday at 3pm we have a special Halloweeny Baby Boogie, which will be a riot. There will be fun costume prizes for this too and a few special games.
Sunday night we have our third annual Halloween Salsa Bash. This year Cojuntos Colores will play. This will be the prestigious band's first time at the D Note, so it will be doubly special. There are cash prizes for costumes, including $100 for best.
Monday is open stage, Halloween edition. Come perform as somebody else.
Then, Halloween eve itself, Tuesday, Oct. 31, is a show that is especially dear to our hearts because some of us are in it. D Noters Jeremy D, Adam D and Adam Ferrill, Jax Delaguerre and Tommy Knox will play a special Halloween show as Slow Children at 9pm. At 8pm we'll have Victoria Lundy on the spooky theramin with Sean Mlekush on guitar. At 10pm The Inactivists bring us their wonderfully nerdy punk fusion. Then the Dub Note Allstars featuring members of Katalyst, Vegas Witchcraft, Lawhead and more will play at 11pm. This night will get wild and we would love you to join us.
Also, if you get this in time, note: tonight, Thursday Oct. 26, Armando Zuppa begins his Thursday residency. So we hope you will come out and help him get it started. He'll be jamming with different musicians of his choice (and he's got excellent taste). Armando will be back every other week, trading off with Peter Wernick and Flexigrass.
Clever and anon,
in D ever
Extra Credit: I went searching for halloween poems and came across some very interesting ones, mostly about kids being bad. But my favorite was the following anonymous poem...
THE GHOST OF A FLOWER
"You're what?" asked the garden spook
Of a stranger at midnight's hour.
And the shade replied with a graceful glide,
"Why, I'm the ghost of a flower."
"The ghost of a flower?" said the common spook;
"That's a brand-new one on me;
I never supposed a flower had a ghost,
Though I've seen the shade of a tree."
[dnote-events] Mid-Late October, Aught 6
In D Pendant, (lovely, bejeweled and hanging from the ear of Colorado),
A quick late note to let you know that the winetasting tonight, Oct. 20, will feature our old friend David Bailey on jazz guitar. Then the ever resplendent Lionel Young. Tomorrow night, Oct. 21st, we'll have folky bluegrass with Kevin Deforest and friends at 8pm and then at 10pm we'll have Zydeco royalty in the house, the legendary Roy Carrier and his band. www.roycarrier.com. Get on yr dancing shoes.
Next week lots of great Halloween shows. Next Friday the epic Angus Mohr does a Celtic Halloween show (called a Samhain) with Canned Haggis opening. Wendy Woo and The Reals get spooky next Saturday. There is a special Halloweeny Baby Boogie bash next Sunday afternoon, and then that night Cojuntos Colores rip it up for our 3rd annual Halloween salsa bash.
Also, next Thursday Armando Zuppa will start his bi-monthly Thursday night acoustic jam w/ friends, so please help us get that off to a good start.
Ever and Through,
D Pendent (on you)
Extra Credit:
The winner of the pizza contest is Christy and Pat Loehr. The pizza is… Sausage Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Pizza, with, of course, Sausage, Bell Peppers and Artichoke Hearts on a zesty white garlic sauce. We guess that the garlic is what makes the eater of this pizza so lonely. Congrats to Christy and Pat. You are good for two large pizzas of your own creation! And we’ll get it on the specials board soon. Pat, by the way, is also the artist behind those amazing cartoon like drawings of girls playing cello and jumping for birds that have been up in the D Note over the past year. And speaking of art…
There is a new art show up with paintings by Ivan Suvanjieff. The show looks great and ties the room together better than any show we’ve had. Make sure and check out Ivan’s CV on the wall as it is a fascinating document in and of itself. Ivan and his wife Dawn run Peacejam which, luckily for us, is headquartered only a block away from the D Note. As fate would have it, Ivan’s favorite poet is Frank O’Hara and so is ours. Frank was also an art critic (probably the best ever) and curated for NY MOMA in the sixties. Here’s a poem of Frank’s to commemorate the occasion.
Why I Am Not a Painter
I am not a painter, I am a poet.
Why? I think I would rather be
a painter, but I am not. Well,
for instance, Mike Goldberg
is starting a painting. I drop in.
"Sit down and have a drink" he
says. I drink; we drink. I look
up. "You have SARDINES in it."
"Yes, it needed something there."
"Oh." I go and the days go by
and I drop in again. The painting
is going on, and I go, and the days
go by. I drop in. The painting is
finished. "Where's SARDINES?"
All that's left is just
letters, "It was too much," Mike says.
But me? One day I am thinking of
a color: orange. I write a line
about orange. Pretty soon it is a
whole page of words, not lines.
Then another page. There should be
so much more, not of orange, of
words, of how terrible orange is
and life. Days go by. It is even in
prose, I am a real poet. My poem
is finished and I haven't mentioned
orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call
it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery
I see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.
[dnote-events] Early-mid October, aught 6
D rover,
Tonight, we've got prime office space in which to do the writing of the D mail, up in the soundbooth of the D Note, while down below five capable players back the legendary Clamdaddys. (The Clamdaddys seemed to have come to us out of a dream, sent by the queen of sleep.) We are engineering the sound of said band as we write these words. We are multi-tasking. Writing is fun. And it is made more fun by the pleasant conglomeration of sounds emanating with such felt force from the stage. The fact that we just ate a Husker Du pie does not hurt at all. We highly recommend this oft overlooked gem on our menu. It features olive tapenade, asiago, green chilis and pineapple. And we recommend it on a tortilla crust, which you have to ask for special.
And what other office has a full bar? Bring your laptop and join us at the office tomorrow night, Thursday, Oct. 11, as Pete Wernick brings it with his amazing band Flexigrass. Yo, here's a link so you can watch the spot Channel 9 did recently on Pete.
Friday night we have John Epstein playing the funky piano for winetasting. Then Lionel Young brings the class of the world to the D Note stage.
Saturday we have the return of the Hafla, Dance Performances by Belly Dancers and the like to the Middle Eastern sounds of band Yallah! This always gets full, so come early. After Hafla we have the funk fusion band put together by our friend Alejandro Castano.
By the way, so you can start thinking about it now, our theme for halloween is television.
Yrs,
D range
Extra Credit: We now present to you an extraordinary poem by Walt Whitman, the great grandaddy of American poets. The poem loses a little something when not read in an actual book, but the virtual one will have to do.
Whoever you are holding me now in hand
Whoever you are holding me now in hand,
Without one thing all will be useless,
I give you fair warning before you attempt me further,
I am not what you supposed, but far different.
Who is he that would become my follower?
Who would sign himself a candidate for my affections?
The way is suspicious, the result uncertain, perhaps destructive,
You would have to give up all else, I alone would expect to be your
sole and exclusive standard,
Your novitiate would even then be long and exhausting,
The whole past theory of your life and all conformity to the lives
around you would have to be abandon'd,
Therefore release me now before troubling yourself any further, let
go your hand from my shoulders,
Put me down and depart on your way.
Or else by stealth in some wood for trial,
Or back of a rock in the open air,
(For in any roof'd room of a house I emerge not, nor in company,
And in libraries I lie as one dumb, a gawk, or unborn, or dead,)
But just possibly with you on a high hill, first watching lest any
person for miles around approach unawares,
Or possibly with you sailing at sea, or on the beach of the sea or
some quiet island,
Here to put your lips upon mine I permit you,
With the comrade's long-dwelling kiss or the new husband's kiss,
For I am the new husband and I am the comrade.
Or if you will, thrusting me beneath your clothing,
Where I may feel the throbs of your heart or rest upon your hip,
Carry me when you go forth over land or sea;
For thus merely touching you is enough, is best,
And thus touching you would I silently sleep and be carried eternally.
But these leaves conning you con at peril,
For these leaves and me you will not understand,
They will elude you at first and still more afterward, I will
certainly elude you.
Even while you should think you had unquestionably caught me, behold!
Already you see I have escaped from you.
For it is not for what I have put into it that I have written this book,
Nor is it by reading it you will acquire it,
Nor do those know me best who admire me and vauntingly praise me,
Nor will the candidates for my love (unless at most a very few)
prove victorious,
Nor will my poems do good only, they will do just as much evil,
perhaps more,
For all is useless without that which you may guess at many times
and not hit, that which I hinted at;
Therefore release me and depart on your way.
[dnote-events] Early October, Aught 6
D Sire,
It is time to stop, drop and roll.
Because you are on fire!
We're calling the Arvada Fire Dept.
They should be here shortly. In the meantime, let us tell you about what we got going on. Tonight, Oct. 5, starting their winter residency, will be Pete Wernick and Flexigrass. Flexigrass, if you don't know, is a mix of bluegrass, dixieland and Plexiglas. Every first and third Thursday of the month we'll have Pete and the boys, except this month in which he will be here the first and second Thursday. (Confusing? We thought so.) It is quite an honor having such a luminary in the house and we are glad to have these stars in our community. Come see them shine. www.flexigrass.com
Tomorrow night, to continue the motif, we have an unbelievably stellar line up. First, for the winetasting, is John Common. Do a google on this guy and look at some of the reviews for this guy. His review in the Westword by Marty Jones may be the most shining review I have ever read, practically a hagiography. His website is hot too. www.johncommon.com
Then, after John, we have The Reals. We can not tell you how great The Reals are. Or, at least, if it were possible to say, the energy it would take is more than we have at our command. We don't think we've ever danced harder and been lifted higher up than when The Reals were rocking. Hoedown music of the future. www.myspace.com/therealsmusic
After the Reals is a power pop band We've been hearing about for years, Rubber Planet, and so we're excited to check them out. www.rubberplanet.net
Saturday night another band we've been hearing about for awhile are debuting. This is an a capella band called Face. Face does a capella rock and roll and several people we've spoken to about them were very enthusiastic. Get there early if you want a seat as the room will probably be very full.
After Face, at 10pm, we switch gears to a housey, hip hoppy vibe with Fusion: a fundraiser for Theater On The Rocks, a new theater company in Colorado. How happy we are to help get a new theater company off and running. Helping out with this show will be Wackyshack, a dj collective who have held several events at the D note over the years. All you drama and dance freaks come on out.
Sunday afternoons Baby Boogie is starting to take off. I want to bring up a point that our friend Hillary just made this morning. When children dance together at a young age it actually helps create positive body imagery. And as you probably well know, negative body imagery is an epidemic in this self conscious age.
And Sunday's Salsa will be packed to the rafters due to the holiday weekend and should be hot, hot, hot.
So, as you can see, we will have quite an exothermic combination of a combustible substances with oxygen this weekend. Come one and all.
Flame out,
D fame
Extra Credit: Left turn.
Chocolate Milk
Oh God! It's great!
to have someone fix you
chocolate milk
and to appreciate their doing it!
Even as they stir it
in the kitchen
your mouth is going crazy
for the chocolate milk!
The wonderful chocolate milk!
--Ron Padgett
[dnote-events] Last of September, aught 6
Comma D,
How are you? The sun is shining. The trees are bright with change, bursting with color. There is music everywhere.
But especially at the d note. We have two bands tonight, Thursday, Sept. 28. The first one at 8:30pm is Tripsineffect. They'll play an acoustic set. Then Cutter Nucson goes on at 10pm. Both bands are from Arvada and just starting out, which is something we love to see and support. We've heard Cutter Nucson at our open stage and really like their sound, very rootsy-folksy and slightly psychedelic.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have the newly formed Tritone jazz band, with the great baritone saxophonist, Aden Harrel, at the helm. Then at 8pm we are excited to have Lionel Young back in the house after taking a break for over 500 hours.
Saturday night we have The Spin back in the house for the first time in over 20,000 hours. If you like to get down to the classics, these Arvada pillars of rock and roll will take you there. Starts at 8:30pm.
Monday we have a special show in place of open stage. The lovely local power pop band The Mumbles will open up for Get Set Go, from L.A. Get Set Go has had a song on both soundtracks to Gray's Anatomy and is poised for the big time. This will be a free show and will be terrific. There will also be a brief appearance by the powerhouse, Melissa Ivey.
Note next Thursday marks the beginning of Pete Wernick and Flexigrass' winter run at D Note.
There's your rundown,
Mellow D
Extra Credit: Theodore Roethke, 1908-1963, is a favorite. And the poem that sticks most to our gut is this one.
The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
[dnote-events] late September, Aught 6
My Little Chicka D,
Do you remember that charming appellation coined by the great W.C. Fields? We're positive a Fields revival is right around the corner. You heard it predicted here first. In a barely related matter, have you seen that Gap ad which has Audrey Hepburn superimposed into a blank screen and dancing to AC/DC's "Back In Black"? Brilliant marketing. First time We've felt like shopping at the Gap for 20 years.
Thursday night at 8pm we have the lovely Beth Patterson back in the house. Beth is a remarkable performer from New Orleans. Her Irish bouzouki playing is masterful, her songs are diverse and original and her stand up is odd and infectious. www.littlebluemen.com
After Beth will be Tami Gosnell. Tami's been described as "melodically agressive acoustic-based rock". Tami's been recommended to us from a few different sources and we're looking forward to hearing her perform. www.tamigosnell.com
Friday night we'll have a band called Mountain Magic, a roots rock and blues band. This band is lead by Charles Ferrill, the father of Adam Ferrill, who you will occasionally see working at the D note. This will be their first show at D note so give them a hearty welcome.
Saturday at 6pm we have the Crenshaw Blues Shop. Some serious blues in the Stevie Ray Vaughn/ Jimi Hendrix tradition.
Then, Sunday, we bring it back to Do Ray Mi Fa So La Ti Do.
Alive,
D Hills
Extra Credit: Genevieve recently presented us with Leonard Cohen's new Book of Longing. We believe it is a classic work of literature. Here are some poems to persuade you.
HIS MASTER'S VOICE
After listening to Mozart
(which I often did)
I would always
Carry a piano
Up and down
Mt. Baldy
And I don't mean
A keyboard
I mean a full-sized
Grand piano
Made of cement
Now that I am dying
I don't regret
A single step
YOU'D SING TOO
You'd sing too
if you found yourself
in a place like this
You wouldn't worry about
whether you were as good
as Ray Charles or Edith Piaf
You'd sing
You'd sing
not for yourself
but to make a self
out of the old food
rotting in the astral bowel
and the loveless thud
of your own breathing
You'd become a singer
faster than it takes
to hate a rival's charm
and you'd sing, darling
you'd sing too
WHEN I DRINK
When I drink
the $300 scotch
with Roshi
it quenches every thirst
A song comes to my lips
a woman lies down with me
and every desire
invites me to curl up naked
in its dripping jaws
No more, I cry, no more
but Roshi fills my glass again
and new passions consume me
new appetites
For instance
I fall into a tulip
(and never hit the bottom)
or I hurtle throught the night
in sweaty sexual union
with someone about twice the size
of the Big Dipper
When I eat meat with Roshi
the four-legged animals
don't cry any more
and the two-legged animals
don't try to fly away
and the exhausted salmon
come home to my hand
and Roshi's wolf
biting at its broken chain
creates a sensation
in the cabin
by making friends with everyone
When I chow down with Roshi
and the Ballantine flows
the pine trees inch into my bosom
the great boring grey boulders
of Mt. Baldy
creep into my heart
and they all get fed
with the delicious fat
and the white cheese popcorn
or whatever it is
they've wanted all these years
[dnote-events] Early-late September, Aught 6
Hi there!
Anybody old enough to remember when Washington said "Hi there!" on Welcome Back Kotter? All toothy grin, head cocked to the side, deep announcers voice. That always cracked me up. Hi
There! This Thursday night at 8pm we have BBQ, a jazz trio, opening for Fullstop Funk, a newish high energy funk band from Golden. Check them out at www.myspace.com/fullstopfunk . Always proud to have a new local band on board.
Friday we have the great Robert Eldridge playing his eclectic and mesmerizing guitar. He will be followed at 8pm by his band Zeut. Zeut is something you just have to hear to understand. They are power pop world groove, for lack of a better category. It feels like a musical tour of the world, and they get folks dancing hard too. Super good. www.zeut.com
Saturday we are celebrating the grand opening of the Arvada Library. Partial proceeds going to The Jeff Co Library Foundation for Literacy. Also bring in your library cards and get 10% off your pizza. It is also our man Adam D's birthday party and since he is the one who books the bands, he's cooked up something special. The Otone brass band opens the night at 7pm. Aden Harrel leads this stellar group of brass blowers in New Orleans flavored joy. After Otone we will have some poetry. Yes, poetry. The Denver Poetry Slam Team recently won the national championship, a very fierce competition. And they are going to show us why they won. I've seen these guys perform and you will have goosebumps and you will be challenged and you will be quite entertained. After the poets we have Vegas Witchcraft. These guys do an improv jazz fusion of the highest order, think 70's era Miles Davis mixed with the sounds of tomorrow. There will be some serendipitous collaboration with the poets too.
Bye there!
Extra Credit: Jeremy D likes to leave haikus on various myspace pages, tailored for the recipients. Here's two we found, on Damon and Sierra’s pages, respectively:
play a guitar man
it won't let you be alone
it is your mistress
as high as the sun
I like to play and have fun
Sierra mountain
[dnote-events] Early-mid September, Aught 6
Dear passerby,
We were just at King Soopers this morning picking up some razors when the cover of the new New Yorker grabbed us from the magazine rack. We picked it up to see what this week's issue had to offer. There was an article called "The Greatest Dylan Interview Ever". We were lured into reading it, but didn't want to pay 5$, so we sat down in the aisle and read. At one point we were interrupted by the sound of a magazine falling, then a kid marched past. We looked up and saw his father screaming, "You get back here and pick that up!" The kid put his head down, swore to himself and kept going. We wondered about that for awhile and then we went back to the article. It was a good one, actually, recalling some great moments of the whole life long enterprise of the Dylan Interview. However, the point of this rambling story is to relate to you the interview's final line, something like... "As Yeats pointed out, you can argue with Hegel, but you can't argue with the Song of Sixpence."
Tomorrow night, Thursday, Sept. 7, there will be a benefit to send two AIDS relief workers to Africa. An art auction will begin at 8pm and then Meese will play at 9pm. Meese is poised to blow up. They are opening for the The Fray at Red Rocks next month and have been getting a ton of local press. Check out the songs and the gushing press at www.myspace.com/meesemusic. There are some other surprises for the night and you should come, because the giving spirit will be felt.
Friday for winetasting we have the Adam Quayne Trio, another talented up and comer in the jazz world. And then at 8pm we get another week with our other favorite band in the world, The Lionel Young Band.
Saturday we have the Harvest Festival all day. Joel Knight, Savanna Rose, Alejandro Castano and many others will entertain whoever happens to wander in with lively, soulful music. On Sunday the fest continues with Rob Drabkin, The Clamdaddys and more. Are you excited? We love this festival. It always feels like we are harvesting, horn of plenty, all that. And also there are always some colorful carnies zipping about. And how about that booth where you hit a junker with a sledge hammer for a buck? Classic.
Saturday night we have our old friends World Echo back in the house at 7pm. Good guys write good songs, in the pop REM vein. Haven't seen them in a few years and are looking forward to what's new. At 9:30pm we have Stonebraker back in again, a local roots rock band who made us all happy last time around.
That's all the news that's fit to print. Or at least it is all I can fit in for now. Stay tuned for a lot more next week. In fact you should just mark next Saturday down now because there will be the Otone Brass Band, Vegas Witchcraft and an unforgettable performance by the new national champions, the Denver Slam Poetry Team.
And oh yeah. This is the third and final reminder to submit your pizza idea, with an apropos name, to our specials contest, by replying to us here. We've already got some entries that will be hard to, ahem, top.
over and ever,
D verve
Extra Credit. The very thoughtful patron, Ivan Suvanjieff, gave me a copy of a legendary magazine he edited back in '94 called New Censorship which includes a lecture by Allen Ginsberg on William Blake's Auguries of Innocence. Ginsberg does a good job of cracking the riddles. Thanks Ivan. I thought it would be appropriate to include some of those auguries here.
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.
A dove-house fill'd with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell thro' all its regions.
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
A horse misused upon the road
Calls to heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.
A skylark wounded in the wing,
A cherubim does cease to sing.
The game-cock clipt and arm'd for fight
Does the rising sun affright.
Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from hell a human soul.
The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.
The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright.
He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be belov'd by men.
He who the ox to wrath has mov'd
Shall never be by woman lov'd.
The wanton boy that kills the fly
Shall feel the spider's enmity.
He who torments the chafer's sprite
Weaves a bower in endless night.
The caterpillar on the leaf
Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.
Kill not the moth nor butterfly,
For the last judgement draweth nigh.
The gnat that sings his summer's song
Poison gets from slander's tongue.
The poison of the snake and newt
Is the sweat of envy's foot.
The poison of the honey bee
Is the artist's jealousy.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
The babe is more than swaddling bands;
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;
This is caught by females bright,
And return'd to its own delight.
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.
The babe that weeps the rod beneath
Writes revenge in realms of death.
The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,
Does to rags the heavens tear.
The soldier, arm'd with sword and gun,
Palsied strikes the summer's sun.
The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.
He who mocks the infant's faith
Shall be mock'd in age and death.
He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.
He who respects the infant's faith
Triumphs over hell and death.
The child's toys and the old man's reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.
The questioner, who sits so sly,
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of knowledge out.
The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar's laurel crown.
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour's iron brace.
When gold and gems adorn the plow,
To peaceful arts shall envy bow.
A riddle, or the cricket's cry,
Is to doubt a fit reply.
The emmet's inch and eagle's mile
Make lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
If the sun and moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.
God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.
[dnote-events] Early September, Aught 6
D flowers,
No earth shattering news, except that we put socks on this morning for the first time in months. So, instead, we'll dust off an old chestnut for you...
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender says, "why the long face?"
Ba dum bum. Love that one.
Thursday night a couple of bands are on the bill, Switchgrass and Uglidog. Here's what it says about them on switchgrassband.com, "Switchgrass is an authentic mountain based Rock / Alt. Country / Americana / Garage / Folk band taking Denver by storm!" Show starts at 8pm. When we first put Switchgrass on the calendar we accidentally wrote "Switchback". They called us to correct it and what could we say except we would switch it back?
Friday we have the amazing Hudson St. Salvage for the wine tasting. We heard these guys once at La Dolce Vita and fell in love. Finally gonna have them at the D Note. If the Pickin' Parlour and The Denver Folk Museum had a kid, it would sound like these guys.
Then at 8pm the Lionel Young Band is back in the house to funk you up.
Saturday, we've got a private function, so, instead, why not go check out our bartenders Genevieve and Lisa's terrific art at The Other Side Art Gallery at 1644 Platte Street. Check out the cool Zine library next door while you're at it.
Ever and Under,
D frock
Extra Credit. We were reading a short story by E.T.A Hoffman called "Ritter Gluck". In it the narrator happens upon a mysterious man in a cafe and they begin to talk about music, specifically composing. The mysterious man's mad ramble reads like a poem:
"Many dream their dreams away in this dream world--they dissove into a dream--they no longer even cast a shadow, otherwise they would perceive in that shadow the ray of light which shines through the land of dreams--they come to the truth,--the highest moment is the contact with the Eternal, the Inexpressible! Look at the Sun, it is a triad from which chords, like stars, shoot down and entangle you with fiery threads. You are changed into a chrysalis of fire, and you lie there until Psyche soars up to the sun.
I awakened from my torments and saw a great, bright Eye, which looked into an organ. As it looked, tones came forth and shimmered and embraced each other in marvelous chords, as I had never thought of them before. Melodies streamed up and down. I swam in this stream and wanted to drown in it. Then the Eye stared at me and held me above the roaring waves. It became night again and two Colossi in shining armor approached me: Tonic Basic Tone, and of a Fifth Interval. They lifted me up but the Eye smiled and said: 'I know what fills your heart with yearning. It is the soft, gentle youth, Interval of a Third who will step among the Colossi. You will hear his sweet voice, see me again, and my melodies will become yours.'
For years I lived in the realm of dreams--there--yes there! I sat in a wonderful valley and listened to the flowers singing to each other. Only one sunflower was silent and sadly bowed its closed calyx to the ground. Invisible ties drew me to it--it raised its head--the calyx opened and out of it beamed the Eye at me. Now tones went from my head to the flowers which eagerly sucked them in. The leaves of the sunflower became larger and larger--waves of fire streamed out of them--they flowered around me--the Eye had disappeared and I had disappeared into the calyx."
[dnote-events] Late August, Aught 6
Dearestest,
We wonder as we wake: why? We search all day for the answer. And she becomes more and more clear as the day appears, until, perhaps, just upon falling asleep, totally exhausted from another epic day, we happen upon her.
Dancing. That's what the D in in D Note denotes. And that's what we are trying to do, get you up and dancing with us. Tonight the Clamdaddys are here, and I've always thought they were a great dance band. I promise you that we, personally, will be on the dancefloor tonight. Care to join us?
Tomorrow night, Thursday, 8/24, at 7pm, we have an art opening for Keri Mankameyer. Two cool things about Keri. She went to the same highschool as we did, Shawnee Mission Northwest, way over in Kansas. But better yet, she told us she dresses up as a different Audrey Hepburn character every halloween. If you've been in lately you've probably noticed miss Mankameyer's portrait of Audrey. It is striking. Come meet her and try to dicker down her prices. Also the weird psychobilly band Slow Children (that's us) will provide a perfectly odd soundtrack for the event.
After the opening at 8:30pm the exquisite Nicole Torres will be back to charm our socks off with her wit and groove. With her will be her Pet Alex. Our pet Alex. I wouldn't want to miss this. Especially if I was a Regis student. In fact we'll sweeten the deal. All students may show their student ID and get wells and drafts for 2bucks, and 10% off yer pizza. Every Thursday night after 9pm from here on out. Because we know you need a break. And because we need your support too.
Oh yeah, we got wi-fi, which means you can totally hook up with Hong Kong.
Friday we've got Perpetual Motion in for the winetasting. Been a while since we heard them so it will be interesting to see where they have been. Violin and guitar on an unique journey. At 7:30pm we've got Quartetto Serafini, a new jazz fusion band on the scene. And at 9:30pm Clusterfunk is back to get everyone dancing with their grungy funk and blues. Note: dance.
Saturday we got lots more booty shaking with a CD release party for funksters, Mojomama. The Big Groove from Bigga Digga will be following the Mamamojos. Starts at 8pm.
Sunday, we'll be dancing all day with Baby Boogie and dancing all night, salsa style.
Monday a guy named Chris Laterzo, goes by the name Buffalo Robe, from L.A., will have the spotlight of the open stage at 8pm. Check him out at www.chrislaterzo.com. Our pet Alex will be hosting. Come show it off.
Anybody up for trivia on Tuesday?
Okay, the day has just started.
D(answer)
Extra Credit: My friend Chris Sharp has a great job. He puts together art shows in Paris. Though I love Arvada, I do get jealous. And though you wouldn't call it a job really, Chris is also about the best poet I know. Here's a lovely bit he sent me just yesterday.
Gli Innamorati Sono Sempre Soli
A Flemish still life
“in a time of madness”
like an egg from
beyond the ken,
the wisdom of unhinged
doors, jiving so
swimmingly
in extraterrestial pools of
my finest—
allegorical really, the raw
handling of matter
overwhelming, almost hypnotic
crowd pleasers
on the lam, crumbling
a magic dust,
impossible and over
everything.
[dnote-events] Late to Mid August, Aught 6
Dear Doer,
Thanks for thinking. I saw the dancer Li Chiao Ping perform works by 5 different choreographers on basic cable this morning and was inspired. Please, we need more of this kind of dance in the D Note, I implored. I then sat down to my e-mail and opened a proposal for an electronica/dance/theater performance and felt as if my prayer had already begun to be answered.
That event will occur on Oct. 7.
Tomorrow, August 17, 8:30pm, we will have the funk of the kind kind. We've been hearing about Tao Jones for a long time now, funking it up all over the Front Range, and thanks to the persistence of our own wonderful Diandra D, a good friend of Tao Jones, we will get a dose of their psychedelic groove. Come dancing.
Friday, August 18 we've got Sol Fan for the wine tasting at 5pm. I think you'll like these kids, doing justice to the jazz classics and yet very moderne. Then at 8pm we have the Clay Kirkland Band. We love the way this guys does the blues. Bring yer dancing shoes.
Saturday, we've got the Rainmakers at 7:30pm, a classical rock band brought to us by The City of Arvada. Then at 9:30pm we've got The Indulgers, a national and local band, giving us hard celtic rocking in the tradition of the Pogues. The Indulgers will be releasing their new CD so we should be having a good party, Monkeys.
Don't forget about Baby Boogie on Sundays and Pub Style Trivia on Tuesdays.
Here's a new contest for you. Design your own pizza using our ingredients and give it an appropriate musical name and we will choose the best one and use it as a special for the week and Buy two large ones for you.
Under and Through,
Beer
Extra Credit: The mural behind the stage was created for us by an amazing Bay Area artist named David Larsen. He is friends with the well known artist Raymond Pettibone. Pettibone got started doing punk album covers by bands like The Dead Kennedys. Now he has a wall of the S.F Moma. One of his current projects is painting wave murals all over the world. The waves on our mural were done, in part, as homage to Pettibone, possibly by accident. They also represent the Pacific ocean and are therefore an elaborate graffitti "tag" on our land locked blubber. David is both a surfer and a graffitti artist. And a poet. Here's the first stanza of the first poem by him I found when I googled his name, from a magazine called Shampoo. If your interest is piqued and you want to finish the poem, do the google.
Staggered
Careless wave of its arrival
beside the beach where we were eating
sweet, slobbering yards of I was there,
I assure you,
in roses throbbing the room like a cowbell.
Sex can be about land tenure, see
— that’s what makes the beach-front sexy,
all those Ferris wheels and things.
Another lever for us to fiddle with?
Fellows, I’ve got my hands full with this one!
The leather bag came inside of itself.
[dnote-events] Early to Mid August, Aught 6
Good people of D hood,
Things continue to happen. Like this sentence is being written as I write it. Like the word “like” has a brand new meaning, indefinable, like, it is close in meaning to "um", a place holder in a sentence, but meaning a little more, meaning "it's like this", in a continue the flow kind of way, like everything is like everything else, related, a constant reminder of that. It has become a ubiquitous sentiment in our society, laced in the speech of all children. There is a fun game we made up, as it so happens, in which, if you catch somebody else saying "like" as a placeholder in their sentence, then they have to bark. It is a very fun game. And it will help you to stop if you want to, if you have some prescribed notion that it is a grammatically bad habit. But why stop? Enjoy it for a little while, as a constant reminder that, like, everything is related.
Tonight, Thursday, August 10, we have what promises to be a killer show. Sean Brage, Strikethurman and Tiflah. I'm going to try to include their poster in this e-mail because it is a killer poster. Strikethurman is U2ish. Tiflah is Fiona Applish. So if you are a fan of either of those excellent predecessors, you will likely like this show, like. Starts at 8pm.
Tomorrow night, in tights, metaphorically, the young LionelYoung, gets sung. What does it mean?
Saturday a huge swing event put on by 23 skiddoo, with lessons, films and a dancefloor full of dancers dressed to the nines. I'll try to include the great flyer for that in this here d-mail too.
Monday, for the open stage hosted by Ed Skibbe we have very special guests Madmen Across the Water (an Elton John tribute) at 8pm and Twilight Motel (alt country extraordinaire from Littleton) at 9pm. That'll be fer free, Fabio.
We're still trying to get the kindling lit for team trivia on Tuesday. This coming week is a good time to check it out as it will be hosted by a good 80's band called Dance Aquarium.
We're innie,
D button of D Bellies
Extra Credit: There is a haunting self portrait up at the D Note of our friend Marina Eckler. Along with some of her wonderful paintings of those confectionary Easter eggs. Her poetry is great too. The thing I always wait for in art and poetry is an aura I can feel, inspiring transcendence, and Marina's work has always been naturally full of the stuff. I took this poem off Puppyflowers.com, which has a good collection of poetry all around.
Crispest
speaking alost
the mud on my ankle
made a crusted dust visit. But
I trust trust and the old frost:
pshhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
part opal, part apple
shoplifted in stride
socked in my skirt pocket
for a monk's life.
Corduroy swishing for the apple
dry skin, dry sky.
The turkey, the prize
the turkey, the turkey.
My sister's belongings
arranged neatly
[dnote-events] Early August, Aught 6
Dearly clothed friend,
Here we are again; another week has flown by, in a wink; and yet so much has happened in that wink that entire libraries could be written on the subject. The first book would start, "The sultry, stifling heatwave of summer finally broke in waves of cooling rains..."
Tonight, Thursday Aug. 3, we begin a new chapter, with the young and powerful Alejandro Castano at the helm. He and his band Ad Hoc will be doing their groove thing from 8:30pm till the night owls come home.
Tomorrow, Friday Aug. 4, for the winetasting we have Jubal, a very talented guitaristo who can throw down style after style brilliantly. Then we have James Hurtado, Mexican Reggae Hip Hop Soul Music, a hidden treasure. And finally at 9pm we have a band called Cobalt Jack back in the Note to play some classical music. Classical rock that is.
Saturday night at 7pm we are proud to announce the return of the infamous Hafla. Hafla is arabic for party. This one, organized by Phoenix, will include the Middle Eastern fusion music of Yallah! and dance performances by Phoenix & Joynan Duet, Sultry Emberz, Eva Zmatlikova & Derf Green, Shoruq Shimmers, Cairo Moon, Tovah, Bella Signi, Hammerhead Sharqi, El Badree & Selayma. This will be followed by an open dance. For more info go too www.phoenix-dancing.com. The attached picture is from the last Hafla.
After the Hafla at 10pm we throw a curve, as we are wont to do, with three bluesy indie bands, The National Blues Arsenal, Partymarch (featuring Miss Holly Holy) and The Denver City Saltlicks. The Saltlicks had their first show here last year and I think they are great. Think White Stripes go cowboy punk. www.myspace.com/hollyholy. I'm personally really looking forward to this show.
Note that on Sunday there is no cover for Baby Boogie, so bring your kids down to dance. We really want to see a cute little madhouse dance scene get going. We also want to make the Team Trivia on Tuesday work so rally your friends and come out and play.
Okie Dokie,
The D nokie
Extra Credit: There is a weird little poem I have had stuck in my craw for several years now by John Wieners. The poem dates around 1959. Wieners died in 2002. His work is well worth checking out in toto.
A Glimpse
There is a knot in the middle of my head
that will never be untied.
Two monkeys sit there,
one on the right turned towards me, the
other crouched and turned
away. They
have red hair and do not play
with their chains. But sit on a ledge
above Venice? anyway a city with canals
painted by Breughel, I see
them in a mirror when I look for my own face.
[dnote-events] late July, early August, aught 6
Dear notes,
Not to be confused with deer notes. Have you ever heard a deer singing? More like deer bleats.
Dear bleats,
I am reminded of an old joke. It is slightly off color, so if you are sensitive, skip the rest of this paragraph. Q. What is the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts? A. Beer nuts cost $1.99 per pound and deer nuts can be found under a buck.
Dear nuts,
Tonight at 8:30pm we have Kenny Perkins and The Nightshift. It's not easy to describe Kenny's music. Blues? Rock? Pop? Go listen at www.kennyperkins.com and decide for yourself. I see Kenny pop up all over Colorado and we're glad to finally get him into the D Note.
Tomorrow night we have Regina Winter for the winetasting, a fine jazz singer and an excellent jazz guitarist.
And then at 8pm the undoubtable Lionel Young takes the stage. Here's a new story about Lionel for ya. I'm gonna give it to you as ungrammatically as possible. Last Friday afterhours I was talking about Lou Reed, because a Lou Reed record was sitting on the lounge table, and our cook Jason said, do you remember that movie Blue In The Face when Lou talks about cigarettes, and I'm like yeah, and he's like, somehow that movie is connected in my mind to My Dinner With Andre, and I'm all, hey, I just learned the piece from the end of that movie by Satie because my dad said it was his favorite and it would make him as happy as a 5 year old feeding a duck if I would learn it, and then Lionel came in and I told Jason I would try to stump Lionel with the Satie piece and before I had played 3 notes Lionel said, Satie, and we're like, no way!, and then Lionel picks up a mandolin and plays along and eventually the conversation winds back to the Lou Reed record on the table and Lionel says, I once bought cigarettes for Lou Reed, and we're all like, what!?!?
Saturday night we have a fundraiser at 6pm. Mestizo starts out. They've played the D Note many times, very smooth, pretty, percussive folk acoustic. Then Alicia Fall takes the stage. The fundraiser part is for Alicia to help cover her mounting medical bills. Besides being super talented, Alicia is an old friend with a big heart and so we hope to be able to help her out. And her music actually falls under the same adjectives I used for Mestizo, so the vibe should be great. Cost is only $3.
At 10pm one of our all time favorites, Dikki Du and They Zydeco Crew are back from Louisiana. Thanks to The Colorado Friends of Cajun and Zydeco we have had some outstanding Zydeco shows at the D Note. But if I had to pick a favorite act it would be Dikki Du. He has that rare ability to get you dancing so hard you can't stop.
Okay, time for another beer. These beer nuts are really salty!
The D noter.
Extra Credit. This was a long e-mail and therefore deserves a short poem. Here's one by the great New York School poet, James Schuyler, a brief condensed glimpse into another world, another mood, for our friends over at Peace Jam. www.peacejam.org
Faure's Second Piano Quartet
On a day like this the rain comes
down in fat and random drops among
the ailanthus leaves---"the tree
of Heaven"---the leaves that on moon-
lit nights shimmer black and blade-
shaped at this third-floor window.
And there are bunches of small green
knobs, buds, crowded together. The
rapid music fills in the spaces of
the leaves. And the piano comes in,
like an extra heartbeat, dangerous
and lovely. Slower now, less like
the leaves, more like the rain which
almost isn't rain, more like thawed-
out hail. All this beauty in the
mess of this small apartment on
West 20th in Chelsea, New York.
Slowly the notes pour out, slowly,
more slowly still, fat rain falls.
[dnote-events] late July, aught 6
Deep end of the pool,
Are you waving or drowning? I can't quite tell. If you are drowning and I only wave back you'll surely go down with a frown. But if you are waving and I don't wave back, you'll feel quite jilted. What to do? Let me get out my specs and look a little closer.
Huh. You are not waving or drowning, but dancing! Tonight, starting at 7:30pm, with Jason Vigil's band. Jason is a local crooner with grooves. Does that make him a croover? Then the venerable Elana Rogers and The Reason take the stage. Elana is a hard working, sass slinging mama with a brass plated voice. Finally to round the night out is Zach Nichols. Go to his myspace page to hear the music and then scroll down to see the great ad they put together for the show tonight and you will hear and see a prime example of what myspace can do. www.myspace.com/zachnichols2
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we've got Ragtime Bill banging up our century old upright grand. Then we've got Lionel Young back in the house. The more time you spend around Lionel the more you realize what a true master he is. Master what? That's the question.
Saturday night we have another excellent show. Before I tell you anything about it you should bring up another window and go to www.thelovelyandtalented.com and download the stunning mp3 called Maria. Then you can listen to that, in awe, as you finish reading this e-mail. Starting at 7:30pm on Saturday will be Rob Drabkin. Rob's recently opened for The Wood Brothers at the Fox and was featured on KBCO's Studio C. He's another of those super smooth croovers. Then the Lovely and Talented, which I hope you are now listening to, will take the stage around 8:30pm. Our old friend J.T. Nolan presents this amazing neo soul latin blues swing band. Then, around 10:30pm, the music swings a slightly different direction toward more hardcore fusion funk with Katalyst. Think Primus produced by Brian Eno.
Then lots more dancing on Sunday with Baby Boogie at 3pm and Salsa at 8pm. Monday open stage with Alejandro Costano at the helm. Tuesday Team Trivia. Wednesday The Clams give us all deep water diver syndrome.
See the website for more. www.dnote.us
We love you more than life,
The deep end of The Note.
Extra Credit. Here's a sad, funny poem by Stevie Smith.
Not Waving But Drowning
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
[dnote-events] earlyish July, Aught 6
d d d doo d doo d doo,
Choose a melody and sing this d-mail to yourself. i'll try to give it some rhythm so you can't resist. Then you can just sing yourself right off the shelf.
At 8pm tonight, Thursday July 6, Alex Boyd and Savanna Rose are gonna give us their special brand of music and Alejandro Costano's new band Wonderlick is going to play at 9pm. And late night, the DeGraff Sisters are rumored to play. All of these excellent examples of humanity work at the D Note, so it's kind of like we're having house concert tonight. More like a home concert really.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have our old friends The Eric Dorn Trio. We haven't seen them for awhile and it'll be nice to have them back. We've also seen scant little of Lionel Young, who will also be gracing us with his presence at 8pm. I hear he has a few new tricks up his sleeve, so watch out.
Saturday, starting at 9pm, we have a band, presented by Colorado Friends of Cajun and Zydeco, all the way from Louisiana, Dennis Stroughmatt and The Creole Stomp. These guys thrilled us last time through. It is lovely how many phenomenal musicians we get at the D Note from Louisiana. We've had at least 10 over the last 3 months. And for you Zydeco fans, another Lousiana musician, Dikki Du, is coming back through on July 29th.
Tuesday night the Great band Zebra Junction is at the helm of the Dub Note at 10pm. I truly can't wait to see what kinds of rabbits these guys pull out of the hat given sheer creative freedom. Their last album is a masterpiece. It features insanely weird and wise commentary scattered through the disc from "Zeb", who is really Tommy Knox from the Clamdaddys. Genius.
Next Thursday is a very special tribute to Doug Ostrander, the late owner of Dolce Vita cafe. Any donations will go to help Dolce Vita "break even" and clear Doug's debts. I was always struck that Socrates last words were instructions to pay off his last debt (for a rooster, I believe). There will be at least 6 bands performing, all friends of Doug (who had great taste in music.) Third Road home will kick off the celebration at 7pm.
We bid you a
dieu note
extra credit: Because I believe it qualifies as a short poem, here is the joke that was embedded in yesterday's New York Times crossword. Clue: The sign at the costume shop. Answer (in 3 parts):
Pirate Earrings,
two dollars a pair.
Only a buck an ear!
There's a groaner for ya, matey. har d har arrrrr.
Maybe we should get a crossword puzzle club going at the d note. What's your passion. Bring it to the D Note. Book club. Capoira club? Audi club? Tiddlywink club? Thursday nights are perfect. Around 7pm. See ya there.
[dnote-events] Mid to Late June, aught 6
Dear notes of the symphony we all sound together,
I had a dream last night in another world, one in which everything was fantastical and wondrous, every object well crafted and unique, creative living all around. It was dismaying to wake up from this dream boxed within the same everyday four white walls. But it was also inspiring. Those four white walls, I realized, would be a fine place to start, an excellent canvas. Perhaps I could take a favorite work of art and use photoshop to blow it up to the size of the wall and print it up piece by piece on 8 1/2x11 sheets and wallpaper an entire wall? The possibilities are endless, really, and yet so few of us do so little. Why?
Take some time out with us to get creative. It's good for the soul. Tonight, Thursday, June 22nd, we have a band at 7pm that does not lack imagination. They are called Gobs o' Fun. Not only is this celtic trio true to their name, but they also will surprise you with sublime harmonies. At first you get so caught up in their goofiness, you almost miss the beauty. This will also be the last of the Celtic series that has been brought to us by Colorado Celtic Entertainment and we thank them for all the fine music they have brought our way.
Then at 9:30pm tonight we have The Freak Street Project. These guys are up for the Westword award for best funk/soul band. Imagine a band with members from Nepal, India, Pakistan and Iran who play funk with a latin edge. That's our kind of band. We're really looking forward to checking them out. www.myspace.com/freakstreetproject
Friday for the winetasting we have Steve Mullins and Meagan Chandler doing the flamenco thing with their usual flair. Then we have a band called Stampead playing at 8pm. This is another of those rising quickly bands. Here's how they define their music, "Syd Barret passing through Kentucky, Bob Dylan on speed, Andres Segovia playing backup for Leonard Cohen." Again, sounds like our kind of band. www.stampead.com. After stampead, at 9pm our pillar, Lionel Young, will be back in the house after a month away to take us home.
Saturday night there are three emergining giants, local Chris Webb, ex local, J.E.Borgen and Chris Dailey from Boston. If you like Jack Johnson or James Blunt or just music in general, you'll enjoy these guys. www.willdailey.com is a good place to start and a swell website.
Okay, time to go cover a wall.
The D Team
Extra Credit: There's a poet named Jeffrey Miller who died at the age of 29 in 1977. But because he had good friends his work finally got out, just last year, and, thus, he was able to speak to us, from beyond the grave, as they say. The book that was published is "The Heart Is A Quarter Pounder" and it is full of terrific stuff. Hard to pick a favorite poem, but here's one I like...
Hotel Me
I and I and I and I, hey
don't worry brothers and sisters
I ain't joined The Rastas
I'm hungover
an elephant sitting on a pin
the street's full of absolutely tasty girls
I spent last night wading through the night
I was carrying a 150 pound dead nun through some quicksand
I chewed my way into a lump of coal
wore a miner's helmet
sold my typewriter to pay the electric bill
got struck by lighting in the hearing aid
everyone was glad to see me and said
hey man!
the floors in this joint are so thin
when the dame upstairs sweeps junk under the carpet
little dust dots dance before the window--
itsy
[dnote-events] Early to Mid June, Aught 6
dearly d noted
We are gathered here today to listen to great music, eat great food, spend time in good company and otherwise enjoy this thing we call life.
I send you this d-mail a day early to let you know about a show tomorrow night at 7pm that was just scheduled with a band called Cadillac Sky. If you like bluegrass style music you should check this show out, first because it will be great and second because we always hate to have no audience for a great band and a last minute booking makes this difficult. Here's a little blurb from Ricky Skaggs, "When I heard Cadillac Sky for the first time, I heard some of the freshest new bluegrass I had heard in a long time. They write all of their songs. Their vocals just killed me, and they have a new sound. I wanted them for Skaggs Family Records. Anytime you sign a brand new group, you're taking a chance, but with a CD like this, I was willing to go for it. They're great!" Check out www.cadillacsky.net to hear for yourself.
After Cadillac Sky at 9pm is James Hurtado and friends. James brings a mexican hip hop flavor to his stuff that is very catchy and cool.
Friday night we have The Clay Kirkland Band sitting in for Lionel Young. These guys are very danceable and have a unique and often stunning take on the blues. I love their album which jumps expertly all over the musical map, even venturing off into unexplored territory.
Saturday is going to be even more full than usual because it is Arvada's Goldstrike Festival, which happens on our very street. We have some great music all day including Zebra Junction at 1pm and the chill reggae outfit Ital Influence at 3pm. Then at 6:30 PM we have a Eric Peters opening up for local guitar virtuoso Trace Bundy. Check out the sweet website at www.tracebundy.com.
Then after the Bundy show at 9:30pm we have one of our most favorite local acts called African Wind. We've been playing their CD constantly at the D Note. It's basically raw voodoo blues with its roots in African music. This show will be a steal at $5.
Sunday the Goldstrike Festival rages on and we have Ben Long, Savanna Rose and The Clamdaddys to entertain those stopping by. And then salsa lessons start at 8pm and Que Mando at 9pm. Monday is open stage with Ed Skibbe. Tuesday is Triple Threat with jazz jam with Amy Kaye Combo starting at 7pm, Team Trivia starting at 8pm and dub note collective at 10pm with Jim Ruberto (from Michael Lloyd band and Vegas Witchcraft) residing.
Then those dam claddys bring us back to front with their transcendental blues jam on Wednesday.
Next Friday night we have the great Papa Mali back in the house playing his hard core swamp voodoo blues, so check it out if you need some healing. www.papamali.com.
Let us remember why for we are here.
Ever and anon,
D con
extra credit: Here's an excerpt of a very long poem by a "mad" poet from the 18th century named Christopher Smart that I've always been very fond of, about his cat.
For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry (excerpt, Jubilate Agno)
For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.
For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
For having consider'd God and himself he will consider his neighbour.
For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.
For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.
For when his day's work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.
For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he's a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.
For every family had one cat at least in the bag.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.
For he is of the Lord's poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually--Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.
For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.
For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.
For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.
For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.
For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.
For he can jump from an eminence into his master's bosom.
For he can catch the cork and toss it again.
For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.
For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.
For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.
For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land.
For his ears are so acute that they sting again.
For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.
For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.
For I perceived God's light about him both wax and fire.
For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.
For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.
For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.
For he can swim for life.
For he can creep.
[dnote-events] Early June, aught 6
Friends, Womans, Countrymen,
Lend us your ears. We'll pay good interest on the loan.
Tonight, Thursday June 1, Colorado Celtic Entertainment brings you Canned Haggis at 7pm doing their fine fiddle & highlands bagpipe & guitar & bodran take on the celtic oevre. A fine bunch of lads and lassies.
Then at 9:30pm a local band called Blind Vision is up on the stage for some good old fashioned rocking out.
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have Zach and Ben from The Dope Front doing their groovy take on hip hop flavored jazz and funk. We'll be doing the winetasting in house as Primo Vino is out for the week.
Saturday we have a full day as usual, first F note at 1pm and then a highschool band competition at 4pm. Then at 8pm we'll have 3 bands on one bangin' bill. First is John Common with his band. John Common's an intriguing cat. Check out his website to see what I mean, one of the best websites I've yet encountered. www.johncommon.com. After John we have the debut of a band called SWEETLAND made up from members of The Reals, SweetWaterWell and Rainville. I've heard a preview of this and be prepared to be awed. The final band of the night, Stray Dog, hasn't played for awhile, but they were great and we're glad to have them back. The whole night will be straight up booty shakin Americana, laced with moments of sublime beauty.
Sunday we got the Baby Boogie at 3pm. Are you looking for a good place to go to get the kids out of the house after their nap? Looking to relax with a cocktail. You can do both at the same time at the Baby Boogie!
Sunday night a huge show, Ricardo Lemvo and Machina Loca, from Cuba by way of L.A. This legend has come through before and they were wonderful. Ricardo Lemvo will make your knees shaky, men and women both. Our green goddess, Genevieve, has had a crush on him musically for years and so it is a bonus for her that he has followed her all the way to Arvada. Salsa lesson at 8pm, Show starts at 9pm.
Monday the rising star, Melissa Ivey, is back to host open stage.
Tuesday is our first team trivia and jazz night. Jazz starts at 7pm and trivia at 8pm. If you like trivia please don't be shy about coming and joining a team. Or better yet, bring a team! Some great prizes are lined up (locally brewed beers, gourmet pizza's and other special treats.)
For the 6th chapter of dubnote, Tuesday night at 10pm, we have the venerable James Han residing. James is currently playing keys with The Melissa Ivey band. He's a whiz at psychedelic improv and throws the whole history of music into his style.
Wednesday the Clamdaddys bring us all back to center.
Here's one for Don Bain and La Voz to note. Next Thursday this guy James Hurtado is bringing his Mexican flavored hip hop funk sound to the D Note. It reminded me Manu Chao when I heard it.
Okay, time to go swim in a lake.
D lighted,
D pen
Extra Extra
The poem last week was about looking at your reflection in a lake high in the Andes. This reminded me of a favorite Wallace Steven's poem that I will include for your reflection now.
Tea at the Palaz of Hoon
Not less because in purple I descended
the western day through what you called
the loneliest air, not less was I myself.
What was the ointment sprinkled on my beard?
What were the hymns that buzzed beside my ears?
What was the sea whose tide swept through me there?
Out of my mind the golden ointment rained,
and my ears made the blowing hymns they heard.
I was myself the compass of that sea.
I was the world in which I walked, and what I saw
or heard or felt came not but from myself;
and there I found myself more truly and more strange.
[dnote-events] Late May, aught 6
Up to Par D iers,
The fun never stops at the D Note, at least it won't until we run out of money. Which, with your generous help, will not be for another thousand years. Speaking of the bottom line, we have a new force at the D Note, Andy, helping us to streamline and get organized so we can manage the growth. Say hi to Andy and let him know what you are thinking. He's the dashing greek fellow who is bound to be dashing all around D grounds.
Tonight, Thursday, May 25 we've got the Commoners at 7pm, brought to you by Colorado Celtic Entertainment. And at 9:30pm we have a local band called Stonebraker. They describe themselves as high octane acoustic music, a genre we are generally in accord with.
Tomorrow night we have the great Lionel Young and his band of happy miscreants. We won't see Lionel for about a month after this, so come get yer fix now.
This Saturday will be a long beautiful one. Are you ready?
First, at 1pm is the F Note. This should be a good one. I can tell by the names of the bands: Boy Cries Wolf, South of Glory and Giraffes Can't Fly. You can tell so much about a band by their name.
After the F Note there is a parlor music recital at 4:30 pm. We dig doing afternoon recitals. Try one and you'll see why.
Then Saturday night Ed Sullivan says we have really really big shew! Yosvany Terry Quartet is playing at 8pm. I'm going to give you the blurb on this show that was in La Voz, "The Cuban expatriate and New York City jazz scene regular comes to Arvada for a single show with his quartet, featuring Osmany Paredes at the piano, Yunior Terry plucking the bass and Justin Brown banaging drums. This could easily cost $50, but thanks to a special arrangement, admission at the door is only $15. If you haven't been to the D-note before, the cerveza is frosty and the pizza is to die for." Nice.
After the Cuban jazz we have another very interesting show. A band called Ari and Uzi. On their myspace page it says they sound like "Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Radiohead, Bjork, The Postal Service, Efterklang, Tortoise, My Bloody Valentine." I love this kind of music, so I'm hoping a few of you do as well. Also playing will be the great local angry lounge band, The Inactivists and our old friends Guy In The Middle. Check out the band at www.myspace.com/benshepard
Now that's a Saturday to write home about.
Sunday, we go into our second week of Baby Boogie. I heard there was much fun last week. Bring your kids into dance around and have some pizza and that much needed martini.
We've got Que Mando in for Salsa. And don't forget next Sunday, June 4th, we've got afro cuban salsa legend Ricardo Lemvo.
Monday, Adam D is hosting open stage. Tuesday we have a fundraiser for a cancer victim, with one of our ex staff, Ray Ray, performing on the stage. That goes from 5-10pm. At 10pm we have the 5th installment of DDub collective, this time with the great theramin player Victoria Lundy residing (from the Inactivists, coincidentally playing Saturday).
Wednesday we bring it back around with the Damcladdys.
All our dove,
D Oven
Extra Extra:
Inspired by last weeks Rilke poem, David Weihnacht sent us one of his favorites. We encourage you to do the same. I like this one because it leaves me with a fresh image of my own strange self. It reminds me of a few lines from one of our Slow Children songs, which I shall include now: "I stared in the water at the face of another. The other stared back for an eternity. I waved to the other, the other waved back. 'So long, child, so long'." It also reminds me of one of my favorite Wallace Stevens poems, which I shall include next week.
Tilicho Lake by David Whyte
In this high place
it is as simple as this,
leave everything you know behind.
Step toward the cold surface,
say the old prayer of rough love
and open both arms.
Those who come with empty hands
will start into the lake astonished,
there, in the cold light
reflecting pure snow
the true shape of your own face.
[dnote-events] Mid-Late May, aught 6
Tenacious D Note,
I write this D Mail from the crow's nest on a Wednesday night at the D Note. A few hours ago we had Ralston Valley's award winning highschool jazz band and chorale. It was big beautiful sound! Now, as I write, Kit Simon, who owns the Pickin Parlor next door, is playing Western Swing Jazz on the stage with the great Bill Pontarelli on clarinet and the ever present Jaques Delaguerre on bass. They are playing for The Clamdaddys blues jam. The Clams get some amazing musicians to sit in every week. It's all very humbling.
Tonight, May 17, at 7pm, some celtic entertainment with Gob's of Fun. These guys have a shtick and a half. But they will entertain (or else!)... I'm just having a crack at them, because they are that kind of band.
Afterward we have a band called Ital Influence. I got a CD from these guys and thought they were terrific. Think indie rock ska reggae. Start at 10pm.
Saturday is the last Sidewalk Sounds event for this year. Starting at 7:30pm they've got A Word For The Wise, A Fear Not Forgotten and Midley and the Backing.
At 10pm we have a band called The Nighttown Band. This seven piece band have an R&B and funk style and have been getting raves in the local press.
Sunday we have our first Baby Boogie! It's from 3-6pm, every Sunday from here out. Kids are $5 and parents get in free. There's gonna be snacks and juice boxes free for the kids. I can't wait to see the cute chaos of so many little monkeys dancing around the D Note! A nightmare for some, but shangri la for us. If you got the kiddies, bring 'em. They'll have too much fun.
Sunday night, the big kids come out to dance salsa to La Candela.
Next Saturday we've got a cuban jazz great currently living in NYC named Yosvany Terry. He'll be with his smoking quartet. If you don't get out often, that night would be a good one. The show is steal at $15. Normally for a band of this stature we'd have to charge $50 to make the guarantee, but it worked out so we're getting a great deal, so you will too. (Don Bain, this early notice is especially for you.)
Okay and K.O.,
D fibrillator
Extra Credit: If I had to pick a favorite all time poem it would have to be this one. It never fails to inspire me. It was written by Rainer Maria Rilke and translated by Stephen Mitchell.
Archaic Torso of Apollo
We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,
gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.
Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast's fur:
would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.
[dnote-events] Late April, aught 6
D Tour
Well, this is getting to be quite the ritual, this little weekly missive to our small but dear mass of misters and mistresses.
And I'm enjoying it. What writer worth his salt wouldn't?
Got to lick that salt for all it is worth.
Tonight, Thursday, April 26, at 7pm we have a special farewell show for the funny and sometimes sublime acapella group Simplicated. Story behind these guys is that one of them is married to Adam D's best friend from San Francisco, Dave Outhouse's step sister. (Woo, tough syntax.) Simplicated sang at the wedding and Dave told them about the D Note. They've sang here several times since. They are a good ride. Complified.
After Simplicated at 9:30 we'll have a band back called Box 3, a hard core band unplugged.
Tomorrow night the indubitable Matt Skellinger is back for the winetasting on the electric bass. Not the instrument you usually think of first for solo work, but Skelly pulls it off with aplomb. After winetasting Lionel Young is back with the Original Gangsters (Kevin, Jay and Dave). What a nice bunch of gangsters they are too.
Saturday night I don't quite know what to tell you. There is a mysterious gang that pulled off a very interesting talent show a few years ago. A large community showed up to support. So when they called to book something again we said that a talent show wasn't quite right for a Saturday night. So they asked if they could book a few bands. Remembering only that the talent show was, indeed, entertaining, we took a chance and said sure. So Saturday night will be full of surprises for us as well as you. To give you a taste, though, one of the bands is called The Bottom Feeders.
Booyah!
Sunday night we have Salsa, Monday open stage with the almost world famous Melissa Ivey. Tuesday we have the already world famous Peter Wernick and Flexigrass. Wednesday we have the cosmically famous Clamdaddys. Then don't forget the Bluegrass festival next Saturday. I'll give you a teaser for that one too. The band Hotstrings (from Pagosa, hence the clever name) does a ripping nugrass version of Peter Frampton's classic talking guitar showpiece, "Show Me The Way."
Okay, thanks for tuning in. We'd like to thank our sponsors of the week, the publication La Voz, and the Colorado Folk Art Council, for helping to make the D Note possible.
Ever and out,
D Cent
Extra Credit: I am very fortunate that one of my inspirations, friends and mentors is the poet Bill Berkson. Bill is best known, perhaps, for being the student, friend and inspiration of Frank O'hara, perhaps the greatest poet of them all, certainly my favorite. Some of Frank's best poems are addressed to Bill.
My best prurient gossip about Bill is that he dated Bianca Jagger, before she met Mick, and Tina Louise (you know, Ginger). Bill would thump me for telling you that, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, his poetry is great. Here's one from the book Enigma Variations. On the page next to it is a drawing in Philip Guston's inimitable style of a hand writing.
Poem
Like angels, I can only arrive
On the point of your admiration,
And what kind of thing is that
For a grown man?
But what I really want
Is to do what I can
For nothing in particular,
Letting the black holes rip,
As they may, through your lives,
And golden light on the stones
Just before sundown, anywhere.
[dnote-events] Mid April, aught 6
D railers,
In the last e-mail I sent, just yesterday, I left a fragment from a poem I dreamed. There was a response from Rebecca Thomson which I thought was provocative."I have a dream hatched quote too: 'Choreograph your own peace and don't forget who taught you how to dance'"
I also want to give a plug for Rebecca's unique jewelry. You can check it out at www.rebeccathomson.com
Okay, back to the regularly scheduled program. Tonight, Thursday April 20, we have Canned Haggis at 7pm, a band notable for several reasons. Here's two. They've got one of the best highland bagpipers in the world, Scott Beach, and fiddle player Gina Lance, recent recipient of the a 2005 Westword Best of Denver award for her fiery playing.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, we have a giant birthday bash for our lovely bartender, Lisa G. The Reals, Lisa's favorite band, will get us all whipped into a state of fanatical frenzy. The infamous Late Jack Redell is back in town for a visit too. 4-20 good buddy?
Tomorrow night for the winetasting we have the super smooth and romantic Amy Kaye Combo. After Amy another special singer, Lionel Young, with his trustworthy crew. I have to tell you that last week Lionel stayed after the gig and gave us all an excellent workshop on Paganini, on a mandolin no less. He explained how Paganini changed the course of history and then showed us.
Saturday at 7pm we have the remarkable Aden Harrell leading his funk band, Captain Groove and His Funky People. These guys are very talented, super fun and Aden is the most entertaining and soulful front man west of the Mississippi. Great songwriter too.
After Aden at 8:30pm there is a reception and a release party for Melissa Ivey and the Gentlemen's new single, "Stars and Lovers". Melissa will be releasing her album song by song over the next several months and the first stop is at the D Note. Rest assured this album will make her a star. Dave Herrerra, critic for the Westword did a rave up about the new single in the last Westword. It is a terrific little pop gem. You can get a preview at www.myspace.com/melissaivey. Joe Rohan will also be playing. The theme for the night is romance and there will be Belly Dancers and rose petals galore.
Sunday there is a recital for Colorado Performing Arts at 3pm and then Salsa with La Candela. Monday there's an open stage for you wannabe rockstars. Tuesday a Jazz Jam. Then Wednesday that free one man show with acclaimed mask maker and story teller Zarco Guerrero at 7:30pm. Then the Clamdaddys on Wednesday, like grandfather clockwork.
Next Thursday a dance band not afraid to get silly called Sono Salto. Next Saturday our 4th annual Springfever Bluegrass Festival starting at 6pm. Then to switch things up a rave late night.
Over and In,
D railed
Extra Credit: There's a poet oft forgot named Kenneth Patchen. Very influential to the Beat Poets. Died in '72 at the age of 61. One thing I love about him is that he wrote 30-40 books and dedicated every one of them to his wife, Miriam. In this one I have here, his selected writings from 1936, after the dedication, he says "I am come to her wonder/ Like a boy finding a star in a haymow/ And there is nothing cruel or mad or evil/ Anywhere". How romantic can you get? Miriam was a fascinating character too. There's a good documentary about her called "Miriam is Not Amused" if you can find it. Here's a poem by Kenneth Patchen, the one that most sticks in my head:
The Origin of Baseball
Someone had been walking in and out
Of the world without coming
To much decision about anything.
The sun seemed too hot most of the time.
There weren't enough birds around
And the hills had a silly look
When he got on top of one.
The girls in heaven, however, thought
Nothing of asking to see his watch
Like you would want someone to tell
A joke--"Time," they'd say, "what's
That mean--time?", laughing with the edges
of their white mouths, like a flutter of paper
In a madhouse. And he'd stumble over
General Sherman or Elizabeth B.
Browing, muttering, "Can't you keep
Your big wings out of the aisle?" But down
Again, there'd be millions of people without
Enough to eat and men with guns just
Standing there shooting each other.
So he wanted to throw something
And he picked up a baseball.
[dnote-events] Early to Mid April, Aught 6
D Light of our lives,
Last Friday Lionel played with Mike Fitzmaurice (our favorite stand up bassist) and Tony Black (our favorite jazz drummer) and it was just riveting to watch such great players spur each other on. At one point in the evening the band started playing Bob Marley's "Everything's Going to be Alright". Lionel had the audience singing along and the song started working on me, my troubles melted away, and I really believed every little thing was going to be alright. It was as if my grandmother was saying it to me when I was six years old and very sick. I felt much better. Music has the power to heal. And that underlies the purpose of the D Note.
I'm pretty sure that song will be played again tonight, Thursday, April 13, when the aptly named reggae band Healing Force takes the stage at 10pm. So if you are feeling a little sick, we've got a cure. If you are not feeling sick, music and dancing is also, by the way, preventative.
Before Healing Force, at 7pm, celtic duo Peace & Love & Jigs & Reels will do their part to soothe your soul.
Tomorrow for the winetasting we've got Robert Eldridge, amazing eclectic jazz guitarist. Then Lionel Young is back at 8pm. I believe he will have Fitzmaurice and Black with him again.
Saturday at 7pm we've got 3 strong young bands brought in by Sidewalk.org, Some Random Band, The Vineyard and I sank Molly Brown.
Then at 10pm we have a band called The Clay Kirkland Band. Their CD is called "Blues and Beyond the Beyond Blues" and it's great. It starts out Al Green R&B style and then quickly heads into early Pig Pen era Grateful Dead and takes another dozen turns before the CD is over. And though it jumps expertly in and out of genres, it really is unique. And not to belabor the point, but this music also has a definite spiritually uplifting quality to it that is good for what ails ya. Very danceable too.
On Sunday we have a band called Que Mando in for a special Easter Salsa. We've heard this band is very hot and we can't wait to try out our moves to their sound. Many of you don't have to work Monday morning, so its the perfect excuse to come out. Lesson at 8pm.
On Monday at 7pm we have The Pomona Highschool Jazz band before the open stage.
On Tuesday we have the great Pete Wernick in with his equally great band, Flexigrass. They are almost done with their D Note run before the hectic summer festival schedule takes them away so catch 'em while you can.
On Wednesday we have a unique cultural show from 7:30-8pm. Colorado Cultural Connection brings us Zarco Guerrero, a famous mask maker and performer from Arizona, doing his acclaimed one man show Face to Face. This event is free. We love being able to bring culturally educational art to the D Note. For more info check out www.zarcomask.com
Next Thursday we have the best band in Colorado, The Reals, playing a birthday party for the best bartender in Colorado, our beloved Lisa G. It's gonna be real special.
That pretty much catches you up.
Ever and anon,
D Liberate
Extra Credit. This week a poem Adam D wrote when he was driving cab in S.F.
Lo,
When the magic hour hits
the golden peaks
of the city of dreams,
When each successive moment
becomes better shot
than the last,
When the soundtrack
is Zorn on ether,
When you feel like the only thing
that keeps you from falling
over in exhaustion is
the quality of surprise
at every bend, the suspense
of who might be waiting there.
When you find yourself
this lonely and in love,
there you are.
[dnote-events] Early April, aught 6
My deeps,
Tonight, Thursday April 6, at 7pm we have celtic guitarist Nick Kelly. At 10pm we have the return of the terrific traditional Two High String Band. www.highstring.com. All great players, but Billy Bright really shines on mandolin, a master. Their new album Moonshine Boogie features Tony Trishka and other greats. Don't let this great band fall through the cracks of your ears, especially if you are a bluegrass fan.
Tomorrow night we have The Jarad Astin Trio for the winetasting. This will be super cool jazz. Jarad used to be part of United Dope Front. After winetasting we are so privileged to have Lionel Young back. He's been playing with a different line up lately, notably Mike Fitzmaurice who is the best stand up bass player in Colorado in our well considered opinion. He also brings more of a jazz feel to the Lionel Young Band which is welcome.
Saturday night we have HENRY BUTLER back in the house. Last time he filled the house at the same time the Broncos were playing the playoff game, so we expect it to be overcrowded this time. So get there early. Show starts at 8pm. www.henrybutler.com. Hard to overstate how great and entertaining Henry is. After Henry will be Irie Still, our favorite African Roots Reggae band. They always get us dancing, which is the name of the late night Saturday game.
Next Thursday we have reggae too, with the good vibes of Healing Force.
That's it for this week's news. Unless you wanna stick around for the very profound poem that follows.
ever,
The D ranger
Extra Credit: I imagine most of you have read Where The Sidewalk Ends or The Giving Tree or one of Shel Silverstein's other great books. And most of you probably have a favorite poem. I have several. Here's one of them:
Snowball
I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.
[dnote-events] St. Paddy's, Aught 6
Top o' the blarney to you wee little monkeys,
St. Patrick's day means a lot of things to a lot of people. Mostly it has become an excuse to get your drink on. And why not, as everyone knows the Irish aren't shy with the juice. But for me this holiday hearkens to some of the best writers the world has yet seen, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Samual Beckett and the list goes on. And how about the musicians that come from the emerald Isle? U2, Sinead O'Conner, Van Morrison, etc, etc. There is more soul and intelligence coming from that little island than is natural.
So we salute that strange and lovely island this weekend. As well as their celtic brethren across the way in Scotland. Tonight, Thursday, March 16, we have The Corned Beef Wranglers at 7pm. Tomorrow night at 9pm we have Angus Mohr. And Saturday night we have a CD release party for The Indulgers with Canned Haggis opening at 7pm. Our thanks to Colorado Celtic Entertainment for bringing us so much Colorado Celtic Entertainment this weekend. We expect to see you all proudly wearing the green at some point this weekend!
Tonight after Corned Beef Wranglers at 10pm we veer in another direction, several actually. Wu Fei is a virtuoso composer/performer/improviser from Beijing. She will be joined by her backing band to form ‘Forbidden City’, a dynamic group that performs an eclectic mix of music ranging from classic Chinese pop and folk to world fusion and even bluegrass. The music submerges the listener into a magnificent sonic world and utilizes gu zheng (Chinese zither), guitar, mandolin, bass and percussion. Wu Fei will round out the set with some traditional pieces and modern improvisations for gu zheng. Closing out the evening will be ‘Jumbo Special’, a dynamic trio that incorporates odd timings, unique instrumentation, and a whimsical stage show to present songs of stunning and graceful originality. Jumbo Special turns conventional genres like rock, funk, progressive, country, blues, and groove music upside down with a unique twist that’s undoubtedly their own.
Sunday, after our gorgeous salsa night, at 11:30pm, we have a VERY interesting show. There's going to be a super group called Fully Loaded, with members of Black Eyed Peas, Fugees, Maktub, 20th Congress, Garaj Majal, Scratch Pickles, Phil Lesh and Friends, Greyboy Allstars and etc. It's just a ridiculous line up of musicians. It is very strange that they are going to play the D Note so late on a Sunday night, but they offered us the show and of course we said YEAH! If we can make a good impression it should be all that much easier to get other BIG shows like this. We're very excited. For more info you can check out www.boomboomblues.com
Monday Spring begins (can you feel it?) and we celebrate with open stage. Tuesday the amazing, incredible, spectacular, super super duper Pete Wernick and Flexigrass give us everything they've got. Wednesday the Clamdaddys shine and Thursday we have two great bluegrass bands, local band 40 Gallon Still and Loco Macheen from Kansas (friends with and peers of one of our favorite all time bands, Splitlip Rayfield). The latter band has a great website. Check out www.locomacheen.com
How's that for a line up?
Also, we need your help. We're looking for something wonderful to do with Sunday afternoons. We would LOVE to have your suggestions. If you have some good ideas please send us an e-mail back.
Over and out,
D Lighted
Extra Credit: Okay we have a lot of Irish poets to choose from. My favorite is Yeats, but we had a good Yeats poem a few months ago. How about one from 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner Seamus Heaney. And since spring is almost here, we might as well make the poem about that.
Rite of Spring
So winter closed its fist
And got it stuck in the pump.
The plunger froze up a lump
In its throat, ice founding itself
Upon iron. The handle
Paralysed at an angle.
Then the twisting of wheat straw
into ropes, lapping them tight
Round stem and snout, then a light
That sent the pump up in a flame
It cooled, we lifted her latch,
Her entrance was wet, and she came.
[dnote-events] Earl to Mid March, Aught 6
D(ear) Notes,
So much going on over next two weeks. I'm going to dispense with any kuteness and hit you with the bullet points.
Except I don't know how to do bullet points on e-mail and so I'm going to substitute asterisks.
* Tonight, March 9th, 7pm, Parting Glass. This band is great. For one thing it has one of our favorite musicians, Steve Mullins, who has also been to the D Note with Laughing Hands and Ojaleo. Also featuring the singing, and acoustic & steel guitar playing of Kevin Dooley ,the beautifully ethereal vocals and solid bodhran playing of Beth Leachman, the Upright & Electric bass-playing virtuosity of Chris Engleman and Celloist extraordinare James Hoskins. The band has celtic roots but brings along their many other musical influences:blues, jazz, flamenco, bluegrass, rock, balkan , etc
* At 10pm tonight we have The Healing Force, a very danceable and good rasta vibe reggae band. We had them this year for New Year's Eve and had a great time.
* Wine tasting tomorrow we have Matt Skellenger on electric bass and his brother on Tabla. Best electric bass player in Colorado.
* 8pm We have the stellar Lionel Young Band.
* Saturday we have so much. First F-Note at 1pm with The Simple Discussion and Paying Tuition.
* Then at 3:30pm we have a truly top-notch blues act, The National Debonaires w/ Sean Carney. www.nationaldebonaires.com
* At 7pm we have a CD Release party for big time up and comer Tim Hanauer, also featuring Rob Drabkin and our favorite local diva, Melissa Ivey.
* At 10pm we have Thomas Zingaro (from the Reals). Thom's stuff is a little like Chris Isaacs', but better. Then on the same bill we have Spiv. Haven't heard these guys yet, but they were referred to us by Brice from Denver Message Board and they look terrific, rockabilly style. And then batting clean up is The Denver City Saltlicks. These guys had their first show at the D Note about 2 months ago. They rock! Think the White Stripes with a washboard.
*Sunday we have our ever wondrous salsa.
*Monday, instead of open stage we have three great bands, The Mumbles, Starfuzz and Get Set Go. I've heard The Mumbles several times and am always wowed by Mike Berg's songwriting. And the band gets deeper every time I hear them. Starfuzz is a great local power pop band. And Get Set Go is the reason for the occasion, a wonderful band from Los Angeles. I streamed their music from their website and ended up listening for a long time. www.getsetgomusic.com. They had a song on Grey's Anatomy and even made the soundtrack for the show, so definitely don't miss.
*Tuesday, The Jazz Jam with Amy Kay. Then at 10pm we have YET ANOTHER great band from out of town, Eleven Eyes, from Eugene Oregon, nonstandard jazz with touches of drum&bass, latin, hip hop and etc.
*Wednesday, The Dam Claddies, lassies and laddies.
*Next Thursday night another cool show I'm going to tell you about in advance. We've had Wu Fei in a few times. She's unbelievably amazing as anyone who has heard her can attest to. If not check out www.wufeimusic.com. Now she's with her band Forbidden City and Jumbo Special. Here's her description of the bands, "Wu Fei is a virtuoso composer/performer/improviser from Beijing. She will be joined by her backing band to form ‘Forbidden City’, a dynamic group that performs an eclectic mix of music ranging from classic Chinese pop and folk to world fusion and even bluegrass. The music submerges the listener into a magnificent sonic world and utilizes gu zheng (Chinese zither), guitar, mandolin, bass and percussion. Wu Fei will round out the set with some traditional pieces and modern improvisations for gu zheng. Closing out the evening will be ‘Jumbo Special’, a dynamic trio that incorporates odd timings, unique instrumentation, and a whimsical stage show to present songs of stunning and graceful originality. Jumbo Special turns conventional genres like rock, funk, progressive, country, blues, and groove music upside down with a unique twist that’s undoubtedly their own. This will be an incredible evening that is not to be missed!!!
*Finally, we have Angus Mohr next Friday night for St. Patrick's. Highlands bagpipe take on classic rock. Sounds cheesy, but it's not at all. It's quite powerful. Then Saturday, March 18th, we've got The Indulgers! What a great way to celebrate the Irish among us!
Asterisks out,
D Nodes
(for more details visit www.dnote.us)
Extra Credit: A really great poet that very few people know about is Jack Spicer, part of the Berkeley Renaissance in the 50s and 60s. Born in '25 and died in '65. Here's one of his that I've always liked, that sums up a certain something,
THING LANGUAGE
This ocean, humiliating in its disguises
Tougher than anything.
No one listens to poetry. The ocean
Does not mean to be listened to. A drop
Or crash of water. It means
Nothing.
It
Is bread and buter
Pepper and salt. The death
That young men hope for. Aimlessly
It pounds the shore. White and aimless signals. No
One listens to poetry.
[dnote-events] Early March, aught 6
Note D
?backward everything wrote I if me understand you Would
No, then I better not try that. Just that I'm feeling a little inverse today.
Tonight, Thursday, March 2nd, we have three great shows. Yes, more great shows than you can pass up, even on a Thursday night.
The first one will be at 7pm as part of our Celtic Series. Last week someone asked if there was a name for this series and some wiseacre from the audience yelled "How About, "I rish it was Friday!" That's funny. Tonight is a band called Mulligan Stew. I've noticed a lot of the local Irish bands are named after food. That's funny too.
After the celtic, at 9:30pm we have Fallout Orphan, a straight up kick butt take no prisoners rock band, with a Bjorkish twist. www.falloutorphan.com
Then around 11 PM local heroes Askimbo take the stage. Lots of horns and stoner groove. Their website is a crack up. Check it out. www.askimbo.com. Both Askimbo and Fallout Orphan have roots in Arvada and are a good example of the kind of quality bred here abouts.
Tomorrow for the winetasting we have jazz guitar stylist Steve Glotzer. Then at 8pm Lionel Young and his merry men go crazy.
Saturday we have D Note favorite brass band, The Otones, led by the D Note's favorite sax man, Aden Harrel, at 6:30pm. Then at 10pm, continuing the New Orlean's vibe we have T. Broussard and The Zydeco Crew. This one was brought to us by Colorado Friends of Cajun and Zydeco. Everything they have brought us so far has been outstanding. www.cfcz.org
Sunday night we have La Candela. Monday night Melissa Ivey hosts open stage. Also it is Genevieve's birthday. Happy Birthday, Genevieve! Tuesday Pete Wernick and Flexigrass and Wednesday we are fortunate to host the legendary Clamdaddys.
Then we do it all over again, but always a little differently each time.
evol,
eton D,
Extra Credit: Jeremy reminded me yesterday that it was Howard Nemerov's birthday. He's 86. Here's a little gem from him.
Manners
Prig offered Pig the first chance at dessert,
So Pig reached out and speared the bigger part.
"Now that," cried Prig, "is extremely rude of you!"
Pig, with his mouth full, said, "Wha, wha' wou' 'ou do?"
"I would have taken the littler bit," said Prig.
"Stop kvetching, then, it's what you've got," said Pig.
-------So virtue is its own reward, you see.
-------And that is all it's ever going to be.
Mardi Gras, Aught 6
Dear Carnival Revelers
I know there is a real and serious meaning of Mardi Gras for certain folks, a deep religious significance. Not having shared this religious custom as part of my own heritage, Mardi Gras has instead taken on significance as a celebration of life deriving out of a specific music cooked up in Louisiana. To define the music would be difficult, but you know it when you hear it, a heady gumbo of African, Latin and Voo Doo, with spices of a dozen other influences.
We love this music and will be celebrating in serious style this year. First we have Louisiana artist Papa Mali performing this Saturday, Feb. 25th, at 10pm. Hard core voodoo blues. The press on this guy is amazing and it is instructive to read. go to www.papamali.com. Here's a taste of it, from a revue of his new album "Thunder Chicken",
"The rest of the originals stick close to the vein, the vein that is murky and unruly, full of surprises and killer riffs and hooks that could seduce a virtual street-full of revelers. "Cottonfields and Bayous" makes a case for this band being a thoroughly modern construct. The Instagators may deeply honor their musical heritage, but they're far from stuck in it. This feedback and slow strolling, freak-out hymn to the backwaters could only have been made in the 21st century with its hypnotic, twisted basslines that bust like a geyser from the speakers and reverb-drenched guitars behind the whispering keys and backbeat-driven drums. This record is timeless, sexy, and dangerous in its roots-man groove." — allmusic.com
Of course we can't just have one party on a Saturday night, we've got to have two. The Duke Street Kings are also playing at Mardi Gras party from 7pm -9pm. These guys are old friends by now, old school rock and roll.
And to round the Mardi Gras mayhem we have a big Fat Tuesday show next Tuesday at 8pm. First the New Orleans groove band Bigga Digga will be playing and then around 9:30pm Du4Roux will get seriously greasy funky sexy. Bring on the beads. Both bands have great websites. www.biggadigga.com and www.du4roux.com
As if that weren't enough, we'll also have the Otone Brass Band playing New Orlean's brass music next Saturday at 6pm and T.Broussard and The Zydeco Steppers playing next Saturday at 9pm. Wow. It's an overbundance which we do not take for granted. It's like we're having a mini New Orleans Carnival in Arvada, paying homage to a truly great culture.
We're going to do the same thing in a couple of weeks for another culture, another religious holiday that has transmuted into a celebration for a different specific cultural music, that of Ireland. You can actually start way early tonight if you are so inclined as Peace & Love & Jigs & Reels are playing at 7pm. After the celtic music we'll have emerging folk rockstar Coles Whalen playing at 10pm.
You can also start early on Mardi Gras this Friday night with Lionel Young, a musician spiritually in tune with New Orleans.
There's lots more happening at the Dnote. Check out www.dnote.us for specifics.
Come dance and celebrate with us.
Your fellow Carnival Revelers,
Extra Credit: I've been laying all this ancient poetry on you lately. So we should do something new now. Mike Topp is one of my favorites, always funny, strange and misleading. There is actually a poem of his written on a door in the back hallway of the D Note. Try to find it. The following trilogy of poems comes from a great online poetry mag www.bigbridge.com and seem to have nothing to do with Mardi Gras.
The Beaver Trilogy
Flag
We were pledging allegiance to the flag and Dad caught me looking out the window. Mom said she didn't think that was very patriotic of me. I said I was looking at the flag outside on the pole. Dad thought it over and said that from now on we were to all look at the flag inside.
Cotto
For my first big dance I bought an orchid corsage for my date. I could have just bought her a gardenia but I really wanted to make a good impression. I kept it in the refrigerator so it wouldn't wilt but I forgot to cover it and Saturday night my date said it smelled like salami. When I got home the first thing I did was to check and see if the salami smelled like an orchid.
Timmy John
I remember the first time we left little Timmy John alone. We had one of those doors for the cat to go in and out of. Sure enough, when we got home, little Timmy John had his head caught in it. He wasn't hurt or anything--just a little frightened. But the cat was mad.
[dnote-events] Mid to Late February, aught 6
Dear patrons and matrons and various combinations thereof,
Ancestral is as doves, some invisibly paw an Egyptian mantle like chargers.
For prime example, Tonight, Thursday, February 16. At 7pm we present Canned Haggis! Disgusting, you say! And we say, no, not canned haggis the foodstuff, but Canned Haggis the celtic band with the eminent Scott Beach on bagpipes. Delicious. Colorado Celtic Entertainment's press release says "Colorado's Celtic 4-Piece band "Canned Haggis" performs a diversity of Celtic music on the fiddle, guitar and two types of bagpipes accompanied by bohran (the Irish stretched skin drum) and djembe drums. With well over 80 years of performance experience between the musicians "Canned Haggis" dishes out rich helpings of pub songs, ballads, and haunting aires. www.cannedhaggis.com
After Canned Haggis, at 10pm we'll take a 120 degree hairpin turn and present the Freeman 3. If any of you remember that great acid jazz band The United Dope Front, this is the new incarnation, with beatbox master Zack Freeman on board. www.cuezonerecords.com
Tomorrow for the winetasting we have a special return engagement. Mike and Amy Finders (www.mikeandamyfinders.com) an amazing bluegrass duet from Iowa are coming through town again and so we're going to break tradition and have some bluegrass instead of jazz for the winetasting. But you know, we always try to shake things up a little here and there.
Which is what Lionel Young continues to do every Friday night. Lionel’s the coolest cat we know, the best blues violinist alive and one of the most fun live acts around.
Saturday at 1pm we have the continuation of the f-note series with From Russia w/ Love, Ten Bucks Short and Aaron and Andrew Long. The f-note movement now has its own website! Check it out, www.fnotemovement.com. We love to see an idea take off and come to fruition. Just gets us all sentimental. Those guys are making it work.
(Speaking of making it work, anybody else a Project Runway fanatic?)
Saturday night at 7:30pm we have Meese, presented by Sidewalk Sounds. Meese is fronted by Patrick Meese who used to host the open stage of the Dnote way back in aught 5. Here's what Dave Herrera had to say about Meese’s new record, I Don't Buy It,
"Less orchestral than Sufjan Stevens but every bit as sophisticated and engaging, the singer-songwriter deftly fills out eloquent arrangements with his lush vocals, which at times recall the breathy delivery of Fray protegé Isaac Slade ("The Pulse of the Song") and the soft timbre of Paul Simon ("You're Already Here" and "Twice My Weight"). More than half of the songs on this EP appeared on I Don't Buy It, Meese's solo disc, issued earlier this year. Since then, Meese has become a group effort, and with these new recordings, the act has managed to deliver one of the year's most impressive discs. I'm sold, anyway." -Dave Herrera, music editor Westword Magazine
Also, check out the "upcoming shows" link on Meese's website. I just did and the way that page is laid out took my breath away. www.meesemusic.com
After Meese at 10pm we have Substant, these guys came in quietly on a Thursday night not long ago and left loudly. So we brought them back. They shake the rafters with their metallic cry.
For the rest of the story, go to www.dnote.us
Love,
The Pleasure-domers
Extra Extra Credit: I have always been intrigued with the story of Coleridge’s writing of the strange and beautiful poem “Kubla Khan”. Apparently he composed it within an opium dream and then awoke and began to write it down. While feverishly writing he was interrupted by a sales call. (Don’t you hate that?) When he went back to finish the poem he drew a blank. And so we are left with just a tease of the whole might have been. Here it is...
Kubla Khan
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail:
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me
That with music loud and long
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
[dnote-events] Mid February, aught 6
D NOOOOOOOOOTE (pronounced with a descending tone, like falling off a cliff....
Parachute opens. You sway gently down, like a leaf, into the lush forest of what's going on.)
Tonight, Thursday, February 9th, the Colorado Celtic Society brings us that strange and entertaining band, Gobs O' Fun. www.gobsofun.com
After the Celtic, at 9:30pm will be a band called Rain Fur Rent. These great bands are always passing through from out of town. For a teaser go to www.Rainfurrent.com. There's a violin involved. That usually does the trick for me.
Tomorrow for the winetasting at 5pm we have a sort of jazzy trip hop band called New Dialectic. I'm excited about that one, being trip hop fan. Afterward at 8pm we have the man so cool he sweats ice, Lionel Young, with his trustworthy band, leading the room in a giant dance-off. By the way, if Lionel offers you any money to take off your clothes, don't do it, it's a trick.
Saturday. How we love Saturdays. This one especially as it happens to be our THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY!!! Three years in this business is no mean feat and we truly deserve to celebrate hard. The night starts at 7pm with the Kent Hammer Trio. Kent Hammer is the Nom de Sax of front man Aden Harrell, patron saint of the D Note. Super romantic jazz, perfect date music, will get you in the mood, ready for Valentines Day. Then after you get done cuddling up you can get wild dancing to the African style reggae of Irie Still at 9pm. It's practically a tradition by now to have Irie Still for our anniversary party, one of our favorite bands. They've got a four piece horn section for this one too. It'll be off the hook.
Sunday we got the Eric Dorn Trio at 1pm and then at 4pm we have Kids Star Search. For more info on that, especially if you got a budding star in your household, check out www.kidstarsearch.com. Sunday night we have what we simply refer to as The Salsa.
Monday, Open Stage is hosted by Ed Skibbe who is bringing a special treat, Cara Cantarella and her band, which will have the spotlight at 8pm. www.caracantarella.com
Tuesday night is not just any Tuesday, no, this one happens to fall on Valentine's Day. And since this holiday is such a special one we are doing it up right with a Valentines Dance. First, at 7pm the Lakewood High School Jazz band's got the stage. Then they will give way to The Amy Kaye Combo at 8pm for some straight up slow dance jazz. Then around 10pm the floor will heat up with a live reggaton/cumbia band called Los Lunaticos.
Wednesday The Clamdaddys bring us back to their soothing and very particular brand of home music and we start over.
Also, we've got some interesting new art up from Colorado Springs artists, Bob and Kat Tudor. I find myself strangely drawn to it. Gotta feeling this couple's work will be collectable one of these days. You'll either love it or hate it. Or maybe both. For more on these crazy folks check out www.smokebrush.org
It's gonna be a big weekend, so get ready.
Luvva,
DENOOOOOOOOOTE (pronounced in an ascending tone, like taking off in a rocket)
extra credit: A valentine poem for you. Some of you will remember this one from English Class. It's one of the great Carpe Diem poems, written in the 17th century by Andrew Marvell
To his Coy Mistress
Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day;
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood;
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long preserv'd virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like am'rous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapp'd power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball;
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
[dnote-events] early February, aught 6
How D
We gots us a real good month ahead of us then there in these parts.
Start for instance with tonight, Thursday, February 2. At 7pm we have the kickoff to a new Thursday night series at the D Note put together by Colorado Celtic Entertainment (google them). Every week these guys will bring a different Celtic act to the D Note at 7pm. This week is a band called the Commoners. Next week Gobs O' Fun, following week, Canned Haggis, following week, Peace & Love & Jigs & Reels and so on. Only $5, which we think is a real bargain.
After The Commoners tonight we have an "indie" show, with the kinds of bands you hear on them there college radio stations. In fact, one of them, Porlolo, I heard on Revolution Radio, 1190 AM, the CU radio station. I heard the song and liked it and waited to see who it was. When the DJ announced Porlolo I was stoked because this show had already been booked. Very pretty, haunting singular female voice defines Porlolo. Also playing is Johnny Knows Karate. These guys have played the D Note before and you will be hard pressed to find more infectiously sublime melodies anywhere. Mike Hayden plays too and I'm sure he's good, since he was brought in by the other two. We'll find out tonight.
Tomorrow, to help celebrate Chinese New Year, we have the amazing Wu Fei back in for the winetasting. If you haven't heard her music yet, definitely check out www.wufeimusic.com. The texture and variety of beauty she evokes on the guzheng is incredible. Balm for the soul.
Wu Fei will also play a special Chinese New Year show next Tuesday night at 10:30pm. She will be colloborating with vibes player Greg Harris from Flexigrass and Future Jazz Project. www.gregharris.com. The show is free and will be phenomenal. I want to write this paragraph again, just in case you missed it. Like, we had a show this last Tuesday by these New York bands, Lowry and The Bowmans, that just sent me and I hated for any of you to miss it.
Saturday night will be interesting. First at 7pm we have the first show ever for a band called The Denver City Saltlicks, a kind of bluesy hillbilly punk duet, washboard included. I have a feeling you will be hearing a lot about this duo in the future. At 8pm we have the 78 year old blues legend Willie Houston. Google him. At 10pm we have Blu Stu Kitchen. This is another new act that is starting to pick up some steam. Steam is actually a good metaphor to describe the lead singer of this group, Angie Grenfeld, a young diva in the tradition of Janis Joplin and Bessie Smith. The band tends toward the bluesy jam style of early Grateful Dead. They got the mojo.
Sunday Eric Dorn Trio back in at 1pm for a nice afternoon. Salsa does its phenomenal thing at 8pm. Monday we mix it up with the democratic open stage hosted by the great Melissa Ivey. Tuesday the legendary Pete Wernick takes the stage with Flexigrass. And then the aforementioned Chinese New Year Show with Wu Fei and Greg Harris afterward (hint hint).
I'm always exhausted after describing the upcoming events!
Hope you can make a few. If for some crazy reason you just can't get out of the house, remember, we deliver.
In other news, we've had (are having) a few clever updates on our website, so if you get into that kind of thing, check it out. The website is a fun place to get creative and we've got a creative web guy, Clay Ulat, on the job. One of the updates will be keeping a backlog of this very d-mail under DBUZZ. Just in case you need to go back to reference a poem or something.
Hoping you get some action soon,
The D Note
Extra Credit: A little William Butler Yeats for you.
When You are Old
When you are old and gray and full of sleep
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true;
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead,
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
[dnote-events] Late January, aught 6
Dearly D Noted,
How's it going out there in your world?
Do your hands seem swans on tortoises drifting elegant in the sea?
No? Just me then? Moving on.
Tonight we have the smooth weird Americana of Ben Long at 7pm. We've got the sultry pop rocks of The Elana Rogers Band at 8pm. And batting clean up we've got the intellifunkpunk of Rider Beware. Rider Beware features Kenny Karnitsky, a D note angel from the get go, and a subtle, honest writer and musician. Rider Beware got me dancing pretty hard last time I saw them across the street at the 12 Volt Tavern. By the way, for those of you who don't know, The 12 Volt has quietly been establishing itself as one of the best places in Denver to hear alternative hardcore. Add the amazing occasional shows at The Pickin Parlour and the good stuff playing at Dolce Vita and little Olde Town Arvada has become one of the most musically rich places in Colorado.
Adding no small value to these riches we've got Lionel Young doing his classical repertoir on the violin for the winetasting this Friday. I love when he does that stuff and it finally dawned on me to have him in for a winetasting. Lionel's band will be joining him at 8pm.
Woo Woo! That's the cute cry we all do for Wendy Woo, playing this coming Saturday at 8pm. I heard a cut of hers called "Down and Dirty" the other day on The Southpark Music Festival compilation and I have to say I was entranced. It'll be cool to have her back in the house. After Wendy an old school rock and roll outfit called Cobalt Jack will be taking the dancers into the night.
Next Tuesday we have a very special show. Lowry and The Bowmans, both part of the "anti-folk" movement of The Village scene in NYC. Anti-folk is misleading, because it really is just "current urbane folk". Those New Yorkers just like to think of themselves as "anti". Part of that yankee spirit. The Bowmans are twin sisters and their voices meld together in the way only twin sisters voices can. I'm looking forward to it. You should check out more about them! www.thebowmansmusic.com, www.lowrymusic.com
Special dates to clear in February. D note 3 Year anniversary party with Kent Hammer and Irie Still on Feb. 11. Feb. 14th Valentines Day Party with Amy Kay Jazz Combo followed by live reggaton band, Los Lunaticos. Feb. 28th Fat Tuesday party with Bigga Digga and Du4Roux.
Also to note, starting a new Celtic series in February on Thursday evenings from 7-10pm, a different celtic band each week. And you know what goes great with Celtic music? Guiness and pizza!
Okay, enuff for now,
D riff raff
Extra Credit: This week, while looking for a poem, I stumbled upon one I had never read before by the great Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89). So I transfer the energy of the excitement of my discovery onto you. Work these words around in your mouth:
Inversnaid
This darksome burn, horseback brown,
His rollrock highroad roaring down,
In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam
Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
A windpuff-bonnet of fáwn-fróth
Turns and twindles over the broth
Of a pool so pitchblack, féll-frówning,
It rounds and rounds Despair to drowning.
Degged with dew, dappled with dew
Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads through,
Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern,
And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.
What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
[dnote-events] Mid to late January, Aught 6
Dnoted,
I finally got around to watching Hotel Rwanda this week. Great movie. It shook me out of my complacency. It led me to ask myself some serious questions, most essentially, am I really giving my all to help those in need? And the answer was a resounding no! Sure, the Dnote helps build community and brings music and dancing and joy to people, puts good food in their stomachs, all very important and worthwhile missions. But in the face of the serious suffering going on all around us, we want to do more. In 2005 the Dnote helped to raise over $30,000 for a host of charitable organizations, and so in 2006 we pledge to double that figure. We invite your help. Do you have a cause your heart bleeds for? Bring it to the table.
To lead the way, tonight, Thursday Jan 19, The Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary is going to bring it. This is a great organization which takes abused and neglected animals into their care. Five of Denver's best bands and solo artists are pooling their energy to raise money for the animals, with ALL proceeds going to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary. Zebra Junction (Eclectic Roots/ Jazz, Timeless), Thomas Zingaro (from The Reals, Folk/Acid Jazz); John Common (from Rainville and Good Night Tulsa--Rock / Alt-Country); Tony Achilles (from Sweet Water Well--Country/Folk, singer-songwriter); and Live Art by S.M. Kirk and Friends. See www.zebrajunction.com for more info (and a very thoughtful presentation.) So come have fun and feel extra good.
Tomorrow we have a favorite of the winetasters, eclectic guitarist Robert Eldridge, in at 5pm. Then at 8pm Lionel, out of the office on business, has brought us The Rhythm Allstars, progenitors of the Big Groove Beat (as they call it) with virtuoso guitarist Russ Musilek at the helm.
Saturday night at 7pm we have another Hafla hosted by Yallah and Phoenix. A variety of Dance Performances by: Phoenix, Sheikha, Zamira, Zafia & Mizmar Madness Tribal, Devina & Mile High Shimmy Sisters, Evergreen Kahia Dancers, Rafi'ah and Sisters of Isis. For $4 its a lot of bang for your buck. And you might as well eat some pizza while you're being mesmerized. www.phoenix-dancing.com
After the Hafla at 10:30pm we have special guests, Lil Rev and Celia. Lil Rev is multi-instrumentalist folkie (specializing in ukulele in which he is a master). Guy's played with Pete Seeger for goodness sake. And Celia is a serious songstress. www.lilrev.com and www.celiaonline.com
Sunday most of you will be home watching the Broncos game I imagine. But guess what? If you live within the vicinity you can have some of our supergood pizza delivered to your home. Or come in after the game and celebrate the victory with us.
Sunday night we push onward with our everpopular salsa. Monday Open Stage. Tuesday Jazz Jam with Amy Kay Combo. Wednesday Clamdaddy blues jam. Report is that Mo might be back next week from Europe. But that's only a rumor.
Donate and celebrate,
The Dnoter
Extra Credit:
Last night at the Clamdaddy Jam I got to talking with harmonica player Tommy "Pinebox" Knox, one of the most fascinating fellows I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. In the course of the conversation Tommy said, "remember, without the roots you can't get the fruits." Well put, Tommy. And so, in the tradition of the rhyming epigram, I submit this as the poem of the week:
Remember
Without the roots
You can't get the fruits
[dnote-events] mid January, aught 6
Dear Connoters,
The big news this week is Henry Butler, who will be plying his trade this Saturday at the Dnote. Here's the deal; Henry, blind from birth, is simply one of the best percussive piano players on earth. He's played with everyone from Keith Richards to B.B. King. He's a legend, especially in his home town of New Orleans. But, alas, he lost his whole kit and caboodle in the flood. So he decided to start over in Boulder of all places. New Orlean's great loss is our great gain.
When the show was offered to us I was excited. The next day Genevieve and I were listening to a Cory Harris CD and in mid song Cory said "Take one, Henry" and a hot piano solo ensued. We looked on the liner nights and sure enough it was Henry Butler. A good omen. Then a few days later I asked the remarkable Aden Harrell if his band, The Otone Brass Band, would like to open up for Henry. Aden's jaw dropped. He said, "Henry Butler?! That guy knocks me over! I've got all his records! He's playing the D note! Good Night, man!" And suffice to say Otone Brass Band is opening up the show (at 7pm sharp). Now I was even more excited. Then Henry played on NPR's Toast of the Nation on New Year's Eve on NPR, which was broadcast on KUVO, and the excitement built to a fever pitch. So you can imagine that we're really looking forward to Saturday night. After Henry the Zydeco Funk band Jockamo is going to play. That's going to be quite a night and we hope to see you there. I know the Bronco's game is on that night, but you can either watch that game or BE PART OF THE MUSIC. All depends on your priorities I suppose.
You can read more about Henry at www.henrybutler.com
Tonight, Thursday January 12th, we have a solid blues rock band called Cobalt Jack. Tomorrow night we have The Amy Kay Combo for the wine tasting and the return of the mighty Lionel Young Band after the winetasting.
As usual, check the website for further details. www.dnote.us
And start planning a party.
w/ rainbow sprinkled chocolate cupcakes,
The Anti-antidisestablishmentarians
Extra Credit. Last week I got a poem by Bob Perelman from reader Dee Casalaina in response to the poems by Ted Berrigan. I love that, the exchange of poetry. So I pass on Dee's gift to you. The funny thing about this poem is that I really wanted to stop the poem after the great line "Doesn't logic depend on tact?", because the line (and poem) loses some of its punch in the convolutions of the last stanza. And so I considered giving you an edited version. But then I realized the irony, that this would be a very untactful thing to do! So, logically, I left the poem alone.
Word World
Gentle analogists rock the surface
of the inhabitable word. I
am the earth, the sun, the moon
the taste of bread, the place
of sex and death. That's why
there are tears at weddings, jokes
at funerals, and animated projections at birth.
Doesn't logic depend on tact?
And if reality has toes to be stepped on
I have whole Patagonias of emotional red ink
taught to the rule of a spiritualized
virtu-laden hickory stick, strict, unspeakable
bodies dying to pronounce its name.
Bob Perelman From The First World (1986)
[dnote-events] Early January, Aught 6
D-note heads,
Reflections. The Dnote put on over 500 shows last year. We had enough beautiful music in 2005 to make an ice queen melt, enough dancing to wake up the dead. We also started serving terrific pizza. That's a great feeling of accomplishment and we are quite proud of our community.
We hope to have an equally amazing year this year, better, if at all possible. And it will be possible with your help. So please plan a party at the Dnote with all your friends and their friends' friends and their friends' friends' friends!
Tonight, Thursday, January 5th, we have the amazing blues guitarist Fred Wolging (from Roadcone Blues band) and several of his friends ripping up the stage starting at 8pm. Also don't forget that we have a bottomless glass of wine for just $5 with the purchase of an appetizer or pizza during the happy hour, 4-6pm, every Monday-Thursday.
Tomorrow night we have Brooklynite Ted Greenwald for the winetasting and then, in place of Lionel Young, handpicked by the man himself, Tony Black, arguably the best jazz drummer in Colorado, will be bringing his crew with him to fill the Dnote with the Friday night spirit.
Saturday night is going to be huge. 3 funk bands, MojoMamma, BiggaDigga and US Pipe and The Balls Johnson Dance Machine. All for a mere $5. The latter band is a major production with fantastic visuals, costumes, and 20 players, including members of PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC!!! In fact the night before this show the leader of the band, Citrus, will be in Las Vegas playing with the great George Clinton himself. The spaceship is going to land at the Dnote and it's going to be a crazy superfun night.
Eric Dorn Trio will be playing jazz on Sunday afternoon starting at 1pm. Then salsa starting at 8pm. Last Sunday we had 300 folks out dancing salsa. Es bueno por el corazon.
Openstage resumes Monday night with Ed Skibbe at the helm, jazz jam on Tuesday, Clamdaddys blues jam on Wednesday. Another thing to remember is that kids eat free on Tuesday. They love the butterfly pie.
Have you all seen the new art yet? It's stellar. If you love it and can afford it, buy it. Support art! It's so easy to forget how important art is in our lives and how generally unsupported artists are.
Enough harangueing. I'll step off the stump. For now.
All our love,
D-note tails
Extra Credit: A new book, The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan, has finally come out. I've been waiting a long time for this book as it is virtually impossible to find any of Ted's out of print books. Ted died in 1983 at the age of 49. He was a very influential force to a generation of poets and artists, including myself. In fact I used the word "terrific" near the top of this e-mail, a word I use all the time because Ted used it all the time, a kind of homage. Hard to pick out any indicative poem from the massive Collected, so here's a couple I like.
Hearts
At last I'm a real poet I've written a
ballade a sonnet a poem in spontaneous
prose and even a personal poem I can use
punctuation or not and it doesn't
matter I'm obscure when I feel like it
especially in my dream poems which I never even
call Dream Poem but from sheer cussedness title
Match Game Etc. (for Dick Gallup) or something like that.
For example, take this poem, I don't know how
to end it, It needs six lines to make it a sonnet, I
could just forget it and play hearts with Joe and
Pat and Dick, but lately I'm always lethargic,
and I don't even like hearts, or Pat, or Joe, or
Dick or/and especially myself, & this is no help.
Wind
Every day when the sun comes up
The angels emerge from the rivers
Drily happy & all wet. Easy going
But hard to keep my place. Easy
On the avenue underneath my face.
Difficult alone trying to get true.
Difficult inside alone with you.
The rivers' blackness flowing just sits
Orange & reds blaze up inside the sky
I sit here & I've been thinking this
Red, blue, yellow, green, & white.
[dnote-events] NYE
Dear Revelers,
The NYE craziness starts tomorrow at 1pm with blues and jazzbands Mexican Storm, The Bust, and the Jordan Storz Jazz Combo, swings over into some serious Swing dancing music with Easy Bill and The Big Beat at 5pm, gets all sassy with Nicole Torres and My Pet Alex at 7:30pm and kicks into highgear with the rasta vibe of The Healing Force at 9pm. The theme is a gypsy bohemian high style masquerade, so do it up, get into the spirit. We want to celebrate with you.
Yours,
The Revelees
Extra Credit: A short poem by ourself to send you into the New Year with...
EXPLOSION
Frog from bog
Through fog
Into ocean
[dnote-events] Christmas, 2 double aught 5
Mas notas de La Nota de D,
Its starting to feel a lot like Christmas. The ladies of the house have done a fine job of decorating. So won't you come carol with us, brother? Won't you come light our candle, Sister? It won't be the same without you.
Tonight, Thursday December 22nd, we've got a bevy of young whippersnappers cutting rugs and stuff. At 8pm, The Great Escape, 9pm, Substant, 10pm, NFC. The night'll start acoustic (and free) and rock out into the night.
Tomorrow night we have The Eric Dorn Trio for the winetasting. These guys have been playing every Sunday afternoon at the Dnote, and we're glad to have so much of them around.
Lionel Young is in Boston with family so we have a special treat in his place, Friday night at 8pm. A much too young Alejandro Costaño (quince años de edad) will be amassing some of the best young jazz and groove players in the area. Last time his brother Pedro put a jam together on a Friday night we had some musical magic in the house, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of juice his little brother can muster. All I can say is that you will be impressed. There will be Christmas Spirit.
Saturday night we are closed, so that we can all spend Christmas with our other families (and facsimiles thereof).
Sunday we are back in it, opening at 6pm for pizza. Bring your inlaws and show them your secret hang out. Or come to get away from your inlaws. Either way. Salsa lessons will start at 8pm and then dancing with DJ Luis. A fine way to burn off the Christmas ham.
Monday Lexx and Turtle host the open mike. Tuesday there is an excellent jazz jam hosted by the Amy Kay Combo. Wednesday, a consistently magical Clamdaddy jam. I'm actually writing this D-mail up in the soundbooth of the Note, doing sound for the Clamdaddys winter solstice celebration. Tommy and Angie are doing this unbelievable lover's quarrel improv blues number while Mo just strums along, chuckling. Priceless. Well, not exactly. I'm going to sell the recording I'm making right now on Ebay for $5000.
In other news. We have joined the modern world and gotten ourselves a myspace account. If you belong to that world, be a friend. myspace.com/d_note
For those of you without plans on New Year's eve (or wavering) our party is going to be fun. first of all its a masquerade. There's gonna be magic tricks. There's gonna be a palm reader. There will be champagne on the house at midnight. There's going to be music from 1pm until well into the new year, including Easy Bill and The Big Beat, Nicole Torres and The Healing Force. The Healing Force is one of those very rasta, everything's-going-to-be-alright, reggae bands you can dance all night to, perfect for the occasion we think.
Funny word, that word "fun".
Con amor,
Su casa de divierto
Extra Credit. I seem to be in the mood for spanish, probably because I'm rereading the second part of Don Quixote (such a great book) and probably also because I had to find the tilde for Alejandro's name, which, by the way, thanks to Jax, I found out was Alt 0241 on the number pad. Therefore a good winter poem by Pablo Neruda seems appropriate. I have two translations, both by terrific translators, both different. An instructive comparison for the budding poet, actually. Which one do you prefer? I can't decide.
Ode to My Socks (translated by Robert Bly)
Mara Mori brought me
a pair of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder's hands,
two socks as soft as rabbits.
I slipped my feet into them
as if they were two cases
knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin,
Violent socks,
my feet were two fish made of wool,
two long sharks
sea blue, shot through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,
my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.
They were so handsome for the first time
my feet seemed to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fire,
of those glowing socks.
Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.
Like explorers in the jungle
who hand over the very rare green deer
to the spit and eat it with remorse,
I stretched out my feet and pulled on
the magnificent socks and then my shoes.
The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool in winter.
SOCKS (tranlated by Stephen Mitchell)
Maru Mori brought me
a pair
of socks
that she knit with her
shepherd's hands.
Two socks as soft
as rabbit fur.
I thrust my feet
inside them
as if they were
two
little boxes
knit
from threads
of sunset
and sheepskin.
My feet were
two woolen
fish
in those outrageous socks,
two gangly,
navy-blue sharks
impaled
on a golden thread,
two giant blackbirds,
two cannons:
thus
were my feet
honored
by
those
heavenly
socks.
They were
so beautiful
I found my feet
unlovable
for the very first time,
like two crusty old
firemen, firemen
unworthy
of that embroidered
fire,
those incandescent
socks.
Nevertheless
I fought
the sharp temptation
to put them away
the way schoolboys
put
fireflies in a bottle,
the way scholars
hoard
holy writ.
I fought
the mad urge
to lock them
in a golden
cage
and feed them birdseed
and morsels of pink melon
every day.
Like jungle
explorers
who deliver a young deer
of the rarest species
to the roasting spit
then wolf it down
in shame,
I stretched
my feet forward
and pulled on
those
gorgeous
socks,
and over them
my shoes.
So this is
the moral of my ode:
beauty is beauty
twice over
and good things are doubly
good
when you're talking about a pair of wool
socks
in the dead of winter.
[dnote-events] Mid December, Aught 5
D VINE,
upon which the juicyfruit grow, hello, hello.
Tonight, Thursday Dec. 15th, we have Los Dos at 7pm. Mike Neff from Los Dos played solo a couple of weeks ago and I actually swooned. Small world coincidence: Mike is a chef at The Mercury Cafe, took over there when our miraculous Chef Amy left. So it goes. The music of Los Dos is dreamy americana. Check out www.newamericanramblers.com for more scoop. At 9pm we have a band called Daryl Millard. I don't know much about this band, except that it has a cello in it, which is always a good sign.
Tomorrow for the winetasting it's KENT HAMMER TIME! Kent Hammer is an alias of Aden Harrel. Many of you probably know Aden. If not you should. He's in the dnote top 10 greatest musician/person of all time category. On very rare occasion he pulls out his fabulous jazz band The Kent Hammer Quartet and tomorrow is the night. As Aden likes to say "Goood Night!"
After the winetasting Lionel Young will scorch it up. Pssst. Lionel will have a secret guest musician. I'd tell you who, but then I'd have to kill you. Suffice to say, the guitar will rule.
Saturday we got a showcase by Bendiksen Productions. Lance Bendiksen is one of those hotshot hollywood producers who happens to work remote from Denver. Inversely, he also grooms local bands for world domination. So the bands on Saturday are all on display for music reps and there is no cover. The line up is Zac Tschillard (formerly of the Deep Pocket Three) at 8pm, AAO-9pm, The Vanity-10pm, Leer 43- 11pm, and Bushtic -12pm. Bushtic, I should add, is one of my favorite local bands, featuring lush heavy metal sitar.
Sunday, sunday. Eric Dorn Trio will be kicking off the Sunday afternoon jazz at 1pm. They'll be playing every Sunday, switching off with other local jazz bands. No cover, but tips definitely appreciated by the band. Jazz and pizza on a Sunday afternoon, anyone? Jazza!
This Sunday night is the last night for Ricardo and Mateo from La Candela. These guys are omnipresent musicians, playing for dozens of great local bands, and will be missed. So we're gonna whoop it up extra this Sunday.
This coming Monday we have something special in place of the Open Stage. It's called Jingle Jam and it is a fundraiser for Second Wind, an organization to help prevent teen suicide. Bands include 5 Cents Short and As The Flood Waters Rose. Come out and support the kids won't you? $5 donation.
Tuesday night the indominatable Pete Wernick and his Flexigrass will be Seriously Playing. Flexigrass is a pretty good pun, i think, having at least 4 vectors that I can think of, Flexibility, Dixieland and Bluegrass, and trickiest, Plexiglass. Also, did you know that Pete Wernick's Docter Banjo instruction books are in music stores all over the world? Imagine how many kids have learned their first licks from Pete. Warms the heart.
Wednesday The Clamdaddys bring us back home.
We'll see ya here next week, same internet e-mail connection, same cybermatrix.
D Crue
Extra Credit: Here's a bit of Allen Ginsberg (channeling William Blake), a snippet from the poem A Mad Gleam:
The giant Phantom is ascending
Toward its coronation, gowned
With music unheard, yet unending:
Follow the flower to the ground.
[dnote-events] Won't you come out to play?
Dear Prudence,
Ask your mommy if we can go to the Dnote. There's supposed to be this cool pop girl group playing tonight called Upsy Daisy at 7pm.
Oh and tell your brother that tomorrow night there is a special winetasting tomorrow with music by Wu Fei and Colin Bricker. Here's the quote about the event off the website www.creativemusicworks.org (a website all responsible citizens should check out),
"Wu Fei studied composition in Beijing and has had her compositions performed all over the world. Her resume is long and varied. She has played and studied with musicians as diverse as Fred Frith and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Her instrument is usually a Gu Zheng, a kind of zither, upon which she plays a very lush and textured music. Colin Bricker, of Cowhause (with Janet Feder), is a master of percussive electronica. The idea to have the two collaborate together is a brainchild of Adam DeGraff, of the Dnote, who, after having heard them both separately, imagined how well they would sound together."
After this historic collaboration Lionel Young will try to outdo himself, something he somehow, nearly every week, accomplishes.
Oh, and tell your drunken uncle that Saturday night Colorado Celtic Entertainment will present a night of amazing celtic music. Performing will be the Bear Mountain Ceoltoiri featuring Loretta Thompson, The Parting Glass, Canned Haggis, and The McTeggart Irish Dancers. Another good website to have on your favorites list is www.coloradocelticentertainment.com. By the way, The Parting Glass contains Steve Mullins, a good friend of the Dnote who has brought us many great shows in the past, including Ojaleo and Laughing Hands.
Tell your grandpa to come in on Sunday at 1pm for the student recital to see the amazing things that JT has been teaching the kids.
And tell your hot twin sisters that the Dnote is going back to mixing it up with Djays and bands for Salsa night. This coming sunday will be Djay Luis, who is on fire as of late. Only 5$ includes a lesson from a true master, Joseph Snowhawk, and dancing all night long.
And don't forget to tell your cousins thrice removed about open stage on Monday with Ed Skibbe, the jazz jam with the Amy Kay Combo on Tuesday and the resplendent Clamdaddys jam on Wednesday.
Okay, hurry up. And don't forget to ask your mom for some spending money!
Extra Credit while we're waiting: There are a few poets I know I will read diligently until I die, poets with depths that can never be entirely plumbed. Wallace Stevens is one of them. Here's a simple poem by him that sums up a bit of the spirit of the Dnote...
Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock
The houses are haunted
By white night-gowns.
None are green,
Or purple with green rings,
Or green with yellow rings,
Or yellow with blue rings.
None of them are strange,
With socks of lace
And beaded ceintures.
People are not going
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.
Only, here and there, an old sailor,
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
Catches tigers
In red weather.
[dnote-events] Early December Aught 5
Heart Dnoters,
I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. If you want details go to www.dnote.us. Of course we hope you will come hear Mike Neff play tonight, doing his americana thing. No cover. And I'm sure you will quite enjoy Matt Skellenger, one of the best electric bassists you will ever hear, tomorrow for the winetasting. He's coming with a tabla player even. (And yes, Ken, it's for real this time.) And after the winetasting Lionel Young never disappoints. In fact his new Dnote Pizzeria song gets Matthew and I out dancing every week.
But we especially hope you won't miss The Reals this Saturday night w/ Badpenny and Zebra Junction. The Reals are simply the best dance band in Colorado, maybe the world. We play their CD, Majestic, all the time at the Dnote, a staff favorite. They will lift the spirit, practically a religious experience. Zebra Junction's new album, Waterbourne, is a work of art. The album prominently features Tommy from The Clamdaddys as the character Zeb. Badpenny we heard for the first time a few weeks back and loved them. So this show will be really incredible and we hope to see you all there, plus your momma. As an added bonus there will be a great painter, Eric Matelski, doing live art, a staple of Zebra Junction shows. Spread the word.
Another really great band called Storytyme is playing the F Note Saturday at 1pm. www.storytymemusic.com
A kid from out of town that does some beautiful pop music named Ross Christopher is playing at 4:30pm. www.rosschristopher.com
Salsa is always great, with La Candela this Sunday. Melissa Ivey hosts open stage on Monday. Pete Wernick and Flexigrass grace our stage on Tuesday. And The Clamdaddys bring it all back home on Wednesday.
Hope you got reconnected to all you are grateful for on Thanksgiving. I know we did.
Cupcakes w/ sprinkles,
D Crew
Extra Credit: Our thanks to Monica for the following. Takes a minute to download, but will totally get you into the holiday spirit. Put some hot chocolate on while you are waiting. Easily the best light show I've seen:
Thanksgiving, Aught 5
Turkeys,
Gobble gobble. The thing I like about this holiday is that it gives those of us who can otherwise be forgetful a chance to reflect and say thank you. So, before I forget, let me say thanks to you. We truly appreciate all of your support over the last few years. We wouldn't be here still without you, that's for sure.
The Clamdaddys will be rocking out tonight, Wed, Nov 23rd. We're stoked Wednesday night has finally caught fire. Some amazing players come out every week to keep the daddys on their toes. Come play along.
Thursday we are open for a special Country Thanksgiving show at 7pm put together by Rudy Grant. You can tell by the cut of Rudy's gib that he's a bonified Country Music Star. www.rudygrant.com. If you are a country music fan bring the family after thanksgiving dinner (or even better, FOR thanksgiving dinner). The show will also be taped for a channel 2 special, so a "full" audience will make for better TV. $5 cover.
Friday, Kit Simon, Uncle Kit to most of us, and Liz Masterson will be playing the winetasting. And at 8pm Lionel Young has replaced himself with the Maynard Mills Blues Band. Lionel's choice should be.
Saturday we have F Note#4 w/A Fear Not Forgotten and Drea at 1pm.
Then at 8pm we have what promises to be a special show. A group from Nashville called The Believers. Those of you that like The Reals will love this, rootsy gospel, hard rocking country. www.thebelieversusa.com
Also, for those of you who love The Reals, the following Saturday, Dec. 3rd, we will have them in the house, prolly the awesomest band around, they always get us dancing hard, nearly out of control. Playing with the Reals will be another great Denver Band, Zebra Junction.
That's it for now. Plenty to be grateful for. And a question:
How do you keep a turkey in suspense?
Stay tuned for the answer.
Got you covered,
D Gravy
Extra Credit: I love this poet Gerard Manly Hopkins, an anglican priest from the early 1900s who invented "sprung rhythm", a rhythm that propels itself forward, kinda like rap. Thematically he was into something he called "inscape". Here's a poem that works for Thanksgiving, written in 1918.
Pied Beauty
Glory be to God for dappled things
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscapes plotted and pieced-fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him.
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